Afraid to Sleep
by Aloria
Summary: Aeris and Seph are back from the dead, and things aren't rosy between them. Refrences to AZ, AC, AV, but primarily AS and CT. Major ANGST fest.
1. Afraid to Sleep

**Afraid to Sleep **

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own FF7, or any of the songs I used in this chapter. Also, if you don't like some of the content, well, tough cookie. This Fic is rated _Mature_ for a reason and contains Aerith/Sephiroth and Cloud/Tifa.

Also, if you notice that some stuff is different, well, that'd be because I edited a little. Hope you like it! And **PLEASE REVIEW**! It's the **_nice_** thing for readers to do!

_Dido: I'm afraid to sleep_

* * *

_We slept in this room together  
__But now you're gone  
__It's so quiet I turned the tv on  
__We lived in this room together  
__We painted the walls  
__Now time doesn't stand still it crawls_

Aerith sat alone on the dome slide in the small park that was outside of Sector Seven. She had her knees pulled up against her chest as she stared off into the area ahead of her. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do, she was just waiting... For him... But somehow, she knew he wouldn't be coming. Not ever again.

First it had been Zack, ripped from her by death, now Cloud. But the strong spirited young blonde man was now married to another woman. He'd been taken away by life.

_And I'm afraid to sleep  
__'Cause if I do I dream of you  
__And dreams are always deep  
__On the pillow where I weep  
__I never realized how much  
__I was in love with you  
__Till you started sleeping  
__with someone new  
__Last night I dreamed again  
__and you were there  
__You kissed my face  
__You touched my hair_

Cloud was married to Tifa, the large breasted fist fighter who said she'd been his best friend. Aerith knew the truth, and yet Tifa continued to lie to Cloud. Tifa had never thought of him before that time he told her he was going to go join SOLDIER.

Aerith slowly lifted her eyes toward the ruined upper plate of Midgar. No one really lived in the city anymore, only those who really didn't want to leave their homes. She had returned though. Her sacrifice to the Planet had worked and it had been the choice of the Planet to give her life again for her service. She'd been too late though.

_And I'm afraid to sleep  
__'cause if I do I dream of you  
__And dreams are always deep  
__On the pillow where I weep  
__Lying alone in the darkness  
__With a memory in my head  
__There's a big hole where my heart is  
__And a lonely feeling rolling round my bed_

Pulling her legs closer against her chest, she tightened her arms around them and lowered her face against the pink fabric covering her knees. Her curled chestnut bangs fell over her knees like curtains, hiding her face from the one who watched her in silence.

_He_ too had been returned to life, cast out of the Lifestream. No longer could he feel its ebb and flow. Never again could he attempt what he had. He was an island of life... a puddle cut off from return to the earth from which he was created.

Perhaps he could make amends to the one he'd caused so much pain for. Yet he doubted she would accept it. He had done far too much to her, to her friends, to her world. Even her old house was crushed under the rubble of the upper plate. He could not fix that, for his extraordinary powers of will had been stripped from him by his being cut off from the Lifestream. He was just a man. Immortal, perhaps, but a man none the less.

Aerith slowly lifted her face and looked at him directly, her eyes somewhat red from crying. He dropped his gaze, looked away. He started to turn and leave her to herself when he heard her voice. "Sephiroth..."

His heart stopped for a beat then continued and he looked back at her vibrant emerald eyes framed by shimmering dark lashes. She slowly stood atop the cat-shaped dome of the slide and looked down at him. Finally she spoke. "Do you forgive me?"

Sephiroth almost fell over, having been so startled by her sudden address. "... Why should I forgive you?" he asked her and saw her eyes narrow and he found himself wanting to explain his words, "- I- it wasn't you who did anything," he stammered.

Aerith shook her head.

_And I'm afraid to sleep  
__'Cause if I do I dream of you  
__And I'm afraid to sleep  
__'Cause if I do I dream of you  
__And dreams are always deep  
__On the pillow where I weep  
__On the pillow where I weep  
__I'm afraid to sleep_

"I chose for you to be returned to life like this," she stated. "It was my wish that made you like this."

He gazed at her levelly, a flash of anger rising in his heart and he looked away once more, his bangs hiding his dull eyes. Eyes that no longer shone in the dark. He shrugged and Aerith's eyes watered once more, though she didn't shed her tears. She saw Cloud mirrored in his pose. She could almost hear Cloud's voice saying _'Whatever, it doesn't matter to me.'_

She looked down upon the one who had once lead a great army to victory over the entire world, a man who's pride and will had kept him from death even after being cast into the Lifestream and almost taking on the planet's energy. A man who was now- though physically un-scarred, his soul carried the burden of being forever shunned from the world. He walked as a ghost among the living. He existed, could not die, yet none could see him for what he truly was except for her.

"What does it matter? I brought it upon myself," he replied finally, lifting his head to look at her straight on once more. He was still stunningly handsome as ever, his eyes still captivating. Yet none could see that. Even if Cloud were to see his old enemy now, he would only see what looked like a blasted and bent corpse of a man. It was only an illusion. A reflection of the state of Sephiroth's soul.

He turned then, and left her. Left her in her own island. Cut off from the people by her love for a man already taken. Aerith lowered her head, her tears falling and landing in her uplifted palms as she stared at her fingers. "And... I feel guilty for punishing him."

_'I brought it on myself',_ were his words. "And somehow... I feel like I could have saved him," she whispered into the silence that stretched around her like iron walls, cutting her off from the people she'd once loved.

She could never return to them.

For them, she was dead.


	2. I brought it on myself' he said

**Chapter 2**

For months Aerith had lived in the old Midgar ruins, wandering among the people there, going undiscovered simply because anyone she had ever known there either didn't know she'd died or were dead themselves. On occasion she saw Sephiroth wandering through the crowds of a market, his eyes seeming vacant to anyone who looked upon his apparently scarred face. Even Aerith strained to see any coherent thought behind his faded eyes. Every so often, she thought of going after him, talking to him, anything, but he would always disappear into the crowd before she could catch up to him, for she hesitated too long.

Once again she was selling flowers. They were more abundant now, but still rare, so she had plenty of business. Her house had been destroyed, but the garden was still there. Upon further inspection of the house, she found that some of the damage had been repaired, crudely, perhaps, but it was shelter and she had nowhere else to go.

Aerith stood on her usual corner of the street on the upper plate where the people still residing in Midgar had set up their market. She wore a dark green fabric cloak over her shoulders, the hood pulled up to cover her hair and some of her face. Rain drizzled down from the sky, drearily soaking all who came out to get their daily shopping and errands done.

A commotion just down the street to her right drew her attention and she lifted her head to look. Her eyes widened as she saw Cloud and Tifa talking to a merchant. Tifa clung to her husband and he kept his arm around her waist, hand resting on her hip casually as his other hand held a large umbrella above their heads. There was a sparkle about them, a bounce to their step, a sparkle in their eyes, smiles glued to their faces. Cloud finished buying whatever he wanted from that merchant and turned with Tifa to head towards her.

Cloud's eyes widened a moment as he thought he saw Aerith standing beside a building with her basket of flowers, gaping at them in horror. His mind told him that Aerith was dead, yet, there she was. The crowd shifted and he saw what looked like some homeless imbecile dart across the street and disappear with Aerith. The man had briefly looked like Sephiroth.

Tifa looked up at her husband curiously, he'd come to a stop and she looked at his face, "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I- thought I saw Aerith... and Sephiroth..." he shook his head. "Never mind," he firmly told himself that they couldn't have been here. They were both dead.

Aerith sagged back against the wall of the crumbled building Sephiroth had pulled her into. She felt tears pouring down her face and she slowly slid down the wall to crouch on the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. Sephiroth remained standing by, though he didn't come close to her. She could still feel the memory of his grip on her arm.

"Why-?" she asked softly. "Why did you do that?"

Sephiroth remained standing in clear sight of anyone who decided to look at the building, which all that remained of it was half a wall, Aerith was hidden though. Slowly, he shifted from one side to the other, as if restless, as if he were truly the brain damaged idiot everyone thought him. "You didn't look like you wanted to talk to them," he stated calmly. Anyone outside would think he was talking to himself.

Aerith lifted her head, her tears still trailing down her face along with rain. "I didn't..." she agreed. She felt almost transfixed by his slow rocking, finally, he became still, just standing there and watching something- someone- go past outside. "Do you hate him?" she dared to ask softly.

"No." Slowly, he looked down at her, his phantom scars briefly lifting from his face while the rain got heavier, "Do you?" he asked her in return.

Aerith stared at him for a long moment, then looked away, aware that he had begun to slowly rock from side to side once again, his scars back in place. "How could I?" she replied with.

"Must be nice," he stated and she looked up at him, worried, "to be happy," he continued, his eyes briefly narrowing at whatever he was looking upon beyond the wall.

"Maybe some people just aren't meant to ever be happy," Aerith whispered, wrapping her arms around her knees once more, her basket of flowers resting beside her.

He shook his head slowly, "You deserve to be happy," he told her, looking down at her again. His right hand clenched into a fist. Aerith didn't see.

She stared at the ground in front of her, "And you don't?" she asked in return. She got no answer, lifting her head, she saw that Sephiroth had left. Perhaps he hadn't even heard her answer. _'I brought it on myself'_ he'd said. "And I still feel guilty."


	3. And yet, I still feel guilty

**Chapter 3**

For days afterward, she felt sick, sick at heart, rather than of body, and she found it hard to look at people's faces whenever she talked to them. The question nagged her. She hadn't seen Sephiroth since that time when he'd saved her from Cloud. She stood with her head bowed under the weak sunlight that filtered though the smog that still hung above Midgar.

A frown touched her lips as she thought about him. She had to admit that she was worried. "Does he really think that?" she asked herself softly, startling someone who had been walking past her. Aerith lifted her head and cast a smile at the older woman who had paused at Aerith's words. "Ma'am..." she addressed the woman, clutching her basket of flowers in front of her. "I- You- do you know of that man with long silvery hair that used to wander around here? The one with the scars across his face?" She had to remind herself that the scars where what everyone else saw of Sephiroth now.

The woman had been nervous of Aerith's approach, but now that she knew the girl wasn't going to try and sell her goods, she relaxed somewhat, "Yes, I know of him..." she had an unspoken question attached to her words, the question 'why'.

"I haven't seen him around, I was worried that something had happened to him..." The woman smiled in return.

"You asked the right person, missy, I take him food every day. I don't think he has anyone to take care of him. How anyone could leave someone like that on their own is a mystery." The woman's dark brown eyes shone with slight tears of pity. "He's fine, just hasn't wanted to come out, I suppose."

Aerith shook her head, "I- I'd like to see him, if- if that's alright..."

The woman patted her curly silvered hair thoughtfully but nodded, "If you don't mind waiting for me to finish my business, I can take you there..."

Aerith nodded, "That would be alright, thank you," she smiled faintly and followed as the woman went with her own larger basket down the street to various fruit and meat stalls, getting her shopping done. Aerith offered to carry her basket when it started to get heavy and the old woman acceded to the offer.

The trek down to the slums was long, but the woman talked of her deceased son. Apparently her son had been brain damaged since birth and Sephiroth's appearance had given her something to do with the rest of her life. Aerith wasn't quite sure if it was really Sephiroth the old woman was talking about, though, he seemed to be letting the old woman do too much with him. Or perhaps he just didn't care.

"I tried to get him to come home with me, but he wouldn't stay. I kept finding him back here every time I left. So I moved some things out here to keep him comfy," the old woman explained as they neared what looked like a pile of junk shaped like a crescent with a plate of metal over top of it, forming a cave-like opening.

'Some things' turned out to be an old mattress with plenty of blankets, two lamps- neither of which were on, and some dishes as well as some buckets of water, one apparently for washing in, the other for drinking from. The old woman entered and called, "Deary, I brought someone to see you. You'll be a good boy and talk to her, won't you, deary?" She reached out and turned on a lamp, revealing a lone occupant of the 'dwelling'.

Sephiroth was sitting on the mattress, as far back from the entrance as he could get, staring at his hands, his hair wasn't the cleanest it had ever been but it was evident that the old woman was doing what she could with as stubborn a man as Sephiroth could be. Aerith smiled faintly, though it faded when he didn't lift his head to even look at her.

"I'll just get some lunch started," the old woman said as she did just that, apparently used to narrating whatever she did to herself and Sephiroth.

Slowly, Aerith came to sit beside him, pulling her feet under her after taking her shoes off to keep the dirt off his bed. "I was worried..." she said softly. "I hadn't seen you around..."

"Why should you care?" he asked softly, his voice barely getting past his hair. The old woman didn't even realize that she wasn't being listened to at all, she just talked.

"Because... it's my fault you're like this." Aerith lowered her head, "I shouldn't have asked that you be given a second chance..."

His right hand clenched and Aerith's eyes were drawn to the bright red slash reaching up his arm. She gasped softly and reached out, taking his hand and pulling it towards herself to get a better look. "Oh Sephiroth... I'm so sorry-"

He jerked his arm back from her, pulling a blanket around his shoulders and hiding himself from her by turning so his back was to her. "I told you that I brought it on myself," he stated firmly.

"Do you really think that you don't deserve happiness?" she asked, daring to touch his shoulder. She could feel his muscles under her hand, but she could also tell that he was wasting away.

"How could you believe that someone like me could ever really be happy?" he muttered.

Aerith pressed her lips together. "Stop answering my questions with questions. Tell me straight. Why do you ... Why?"

Sephiroth stood then, in a fluid movement that left Aerith under the blanket he'd had around his shoulders and he stalked towards the door. In a brief fight, Aerith finally pulled the blanket from her head, her hair mussed. She looked down at the threadbare cloth in her hands, the large dark stain on it registering in her mind. The old woman tried to get Sephiroth to come back, but he wouldn't. He managed to get away from her and Aerith sighed.

"I'm sorry. I guess he didn't like me much," she told the old woman. She accepted Aerith's words and made lunch for both of them, keeping the remainder of the stew in the pot to warm up later should her adopted son decide to come back.

Aerith sat silently, looking into her bowl of stew, thinking. 'I brought it on myself,' he'd said. "Yet I still feel guilty..." she whispered to herself, closing her eyes.


	4. I think now we both can begin healing

**Chapter 4**

The sky had been gloomy again that day, two weeks after she'd visited Sephiroth. She felt isolated, cut off... alone, all because of her secret. Something she dared not tell anyone, for fear of it getting back to Cloud and the others. She didn't want them to know. She didn't want to ruin their lives with showing up from the dead. The only one who could ever understand what she was going through was Sephiroth- yet he hated her, she was sure.

She'd seen the look on his face when she'd asked him. Even if he'd covered it quickly. Aerith remembered how his eyes had narrowed, how his lips had twitched towards a snarl. Yet he was the only one who could possibly provide any sort of company.

It was sunset, and though Aerith hadn't gotten much business that day, she decided to leave her post and go visit him. The 'dwelling' was just as she remembered it from the outside, its interior a dark cavern of blackness that reminded Aerith of her own guilt, and what lie within that guilt was him... She hesitated outside the opening, but finally reached in to turn on the lantern that was set near the entrance.

He was there. Laying on his side, back toward the door with all the blankets kicked off. Aerith saw his back stiffen as the light came on. She bit her lower lip and took a breath. Finally she spoke. "Sephiroth..."

"Go away."

His voice would have sent shivers down her back, if it hadn't had that soft quaver in it. She'd heard it. "I- I'm sorry," she said, still standing where she was, though she bowed her head briefly, but then looked back at him. He hadn't moved much, just breathing. He made no reply to her apology, so she continued. "I just wanted some company... I thought that you-"

"So. My company is better than nothing. I should be flattered, shouldn't I?" he stated bitterly. He slowly sat up, holding his right arm against his chest while in his left hand a sharp dagger gleamed.

Aerith clasped her hands near her chest, afraid of what he planned to do with that knife, yet she saw that he had not turned to face her. Slowly, she crept forward. "Yes... it is. Sephiroth... you and I- we can't talk about what happened with anyone. No one would believe us. The others... they'd find out... and things would happen all over again." He didn't reply once more. She forged on. "You're the only one that I can talk to. I - I feel so alone!"

He gave a snort and slowly lowered himself back down onto the mattress. "I'm not going to be good company, you should know. I never got much practice using social skills."

His answer encouraged her, even if he hadn't quite said she could stay. She came closer, finally perching on the edge of his mattress and taking off her shoes, leaving her basket beside them. "What were you doing... when I came in?"

"Releasing pain," he stated and she leaned over his shoulder to look at him. His arm was covered in scratches, some bleeding lightly. She reached out, touching his left hand, which still held the knife, slowly taking it from his limp fingers and setting it aside.

"It doesn't help, does it?" she asked him.

"Sometimes," he stated, sounding emotionless.

She remained silent, watching his face, his eyes glittering in the dim light that reached their side of the cavern.

"Not really," he said.

Aerith thought of apologizing again, but it was pointless, he wouldn't accept her apology, he was too busy blaming himself for everything. Slowly, she reached out her hand, touching his hair and smoothing it back from his face, her fingers brushing his ear. "Sephiroth..." she said softly, "I forgive you."

A tension she'd felt in her gut eased finally, a tightness she hadn't realized had been there for the entire time she'd been alive again. She felt better. She rested her hand gently on his shoulder and felt his body trembling beneath her fingers. On a sudden whim, Aerith leaned down, slid her arm around his chest and rested her face on his shoulder. "No one's ever hugged you before..." she said softly, it was obvious. His body had stiffened under her touch, yet she could still feel his trembling. She didn't see him squeeze his eyes shut to hold back his tears.

"Do you forgive me?" she asked softly. He didn't answer her verbally. He couldn't. Instead, she felt his right hand move out from under her arm and clasp her wrist in a firm yet gentle and nervous grip. Sephiroth's hand slid down from her wrist, finally to her small and delicate hand, something he'd never thought he'd touch for such a reason.

Aerith buried her face in the threadbare fabric of his torn shirt, her tears flowing free. "Thank you," she choked out. "I think... now we both can get over what happened."


	5. Broken

**Chapter 5**

Sephiroth slowly opened his eyes, aware that he had company, and he vaguely remembered Aerith having been there the night before. He could feel a body beside him on the mattress and the blankets pulled up around his waist- or was that an arm? Slowly, he cracked open his eyes, finding somewhat mussed long brown hair.

Softly, his bedmate moved, rolling over to put her head on his chest and he felt a leg slide up over his knees. Sephiroth could tell that he was still dressed and things were emerging from his memory. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered that she'd simply cried herself to sleep on him and somehow put him to sleep too. Vaguely, Sephiroth was amused at how just having someone sleeping so close was enough to put you back to sleep as well. He yawned and stared upwards at the dark ceiling of his dwelling. Light rarely reached back this far into it unless the old woman turned on the lanterns- which he usually turned off once she was gone.

"Forgiven..." he whispered softly, looking down at Aerith's hair once more, lifting his left hand to touch the silky strands- she was laying on his right arm. Somehow, it felt nice to have someone trust him so much that they would sleep on him. Not like he could kill anyone now. He'd lost the nerve. Taking a deep breath, he mused about her question to him... How could he blame her when she'd given him a second chance? Even if it had terrible strings attached he found he couldn't blame her. She'd given him peace of mind for the first time in his entire life. Of course he forgave her, if forgiving meant that he simply didn't blame her for anything that had happened.

"Deary!" Sephiroth cringed. The old woman had arrived for the day. He reached down and pulled the blankets over Aerith's head and watched as the woman made her way in and tried to turn on the lantern near the door, finding that the battery had died from being left on all night. She sighed, "Guess I'll have to just come in with the dark." She started in, her feet shuffling on the dirt floor.

Sephiroth moved out from under Aerith, getting to his feet silently and went to where the other lantern was hanging over the buckets of water. Despite the lack of glow in his eyes, he could still see rather well in the dark.

The old woman stopped in her tracks, having only gotten a few feet in and stared at Sephiroth as he crouched and quickly washed off his arms and face with some of the water. "Deary...?" her voice was barely a whisper as she stared at Sephiroth and he returned to the bed to poke Aerith awake with his foot.

Slowly, Aerith emerged from the blankets, yawning and stretching. She scratched her neck and down to her upper chest, pushing her slightly unbuttoned dress front to the side. Sephiroth turned his back toward her quickly but that only gave the old woman a view of his blush. He stalked outside to get his own business taken care of, leaving the two females inside.

Aerith rubbed her face with her hands and blinked, "Where- oh..." She blushed when she saw the old woman. "I'm sorry. It's not what it looks like, really!"

The old woman slowly sat down on the ground where she'd been standing. "He's... not..." she said softly.

Aerith looked down at her hands a moment, then fixed her dress. "He's more intelligent than he lets on," she said softly, "he has his reasons... and I just came to talk to him about something and.. I guess I cried myself to sleep..." A smile touched her lips then, "I think he has changed. He didn't throw me out." Aerith smiled to herself, then looked at the old woman, suddenly hugging her. "Don't worry, I don't think he minds your taking care of him, besides.. he does need someone to look after him. Otherwise I don't think he'd even eat."

The old woman slowly smiled and returned the hug, "Thank you," she said.

* * *

Sephiroth had taken to planting himself across the street from Aerith, watching her mostly, but not so that she could tell. She sometimes came over and talked with him about her flowers, telling him their names and how she took care of them. He didn't seem like the type to be interested in such things, but he listened intently to every word as if committing it to memory. Everything she had to say was important and he almost treated her as if she were holy.

Aerith had never felt so... revered. Even if small children would listen to her, they didn't have an air of complete and total attention that Sephiroth did. It was flattering, yet somewhat frightening. She hoped he wasn't becoming dependent on her or something, even if she normally was dependable, but she didn't feel like she had the strength to carry them both out of the pit of despair they were standing in the bottom of. But he didn't seem that he had become dependent. He never sought out her company, always waiting for her to come to him. Like a spider with its web, and yet... and yet... he was doing nothing.

She'd talked him into allowing her to buy some new clothes for him, yet he still chose dark colors and she was still somewhat nervous about him and did not argue with his choice, besides... she wasn't quite sure she wanted to test what power she had over him.

Fall was nearing and it was beginning to get colder, her flowers were going out of bloom and becoming dormant for the winter. The air was crisp, but still warm in the afternoons, especially in the sun, which was where she stood on her corner, selling her flowers as per usual.

Sephiroth sat with his arms folded on his chest, the sleeves of his dark coat covering the scars that crisscrossed over the flesh on his arms. His head had fallen to his chest, his eyes closed, and mostly he was just dozing, despite the noise of the crowd that wandered in the street in front of him. He sat on the ground in the warm sunlight, back against a half collapsed wall. Across the street, Aerith was selling her flowers, though her pickings were getting slimmer, it was the fall after all.

Aerith smiled slightly to herself as she watched him from time to time. Around her, the air danced with conversations, people planning to head to the homes of family for Thanks Giving, a new holiday since Meteor's destruction. And business was going well.

Just down the street, a man with blond hair and Mako eyes starred at the silver haired man supposedly dozing on the sidewalk. He moved closer by increments, pausing now and then to make it seem like he was simply shopping. Finally, he made it look as if he was passing the man with silver hair and wearing rather dark clothing- and stopped directly in front of him.

Cloud slowly narrowed his eyes, anger flaring in his heart and he wished he'd brought his sword with him. The man on the ground moved slightly, head lifting slightly to look at Cloud's boots then falling back down as if he could care less. The blonde's hands clenched into fists and he cleared his throat.

Slowly, Sephiroth lifted his head once more, spying Aerith across the street with a look of horror on her face and she mouthed 'Cloud'. "Shit..." Sephiroth muttered under his breath, then slowly got to his feet, his hair hiding his face until he was fully erect, shoulders back and he met Cloud's intense stare of hatred.

"What... are you doing alive again?" Cloud hissed very faintly.

Sephiroth was silent, feeling that burning knot in his stomach grow. He closed his eyes and turned his face away, shoulders falling from their proud stance. "You've beaten me.. why don't you just leave it at that?" he said and was about to move on when Cloud's fist snapped out, hitting Sephiroth's back. It hurt, but the blonde couldn't see the ex-general's wince.

"How dare you just... just show up again! Can't you _stay_ dead?"

In a sudden bout of fury, Sephiroth snapped around, grabbing Cloud's throat. "No. I can't. And if you think that's by choice then you're sadly mistaken. I'm paying for what I did, you have no need to torment me further." He let go of the blonde but only after giving him a bit of a shove. Once more, Sephiroth turned to leave only to find Cloud in his path once more.

"Cloud. Leave him alone."

The blonde's head snapped around, eyes falling upon Aerith and widening. She stood, a proud flower among the weeds, though she seemed faded, her color not so bright as it once was. The ordeal had scarred them all. "I've forgiven him," she continued, taking a slow step forward, her basket clasped in both hands, her knuckles whitened by the strain. "You don't know what he's been through. You don't know what he's going through now. Leave him alone. He's put enough blame on himself and anything you say could hardly add to the weight."

Cloud glanced back at Sephiroth, who's eyes were lowered, as if in respect for Aerith's words, the scars across his face prominent, as if he'd been thrown into a fire, his skin looked boiled and blistered. Yet Cloud could feel no pity for him. "He killed you, Aerith," he whispered, eyes falling upon the angelic beauty who had once stolen his heart.

Slowly, she nodded. "I've forgiven him, Cloud, and so can you... but until you can, please go." Her eyes watered and she began speaking, answering Cloud's unspoken questions voluntarily, "I didn't want you to know... I didn't want to mess up the life you have now. You looked so happy with Tifa, how could I just walk back into your life?" she shook her head. "Please go, and forget you even saw either of us. We're outcasts now, please don't make it harder..."

The blond glanced back at where Sephiroth was- only to find him gone. When he turned to face Aerith again, he found her gone as well, as if they had never been there in the first place.

* * *

Aerith ran through the streets, her face covered in tears, her chest aching with the sobs that echoed off the piles of junk and high walls around her. Her hair had fallen down in her flight from Cloud and now fluttered behind her like ribbons of chestnut colored silk.

She yelped when an arm caught her around the waist when she hadn't seen anyone there a moment before. Vainly, she tried to struggle, only to find herself clasped against a strong chest, a hand cupping the back of her head in a firm but gentle embrace. A lock of long silver hair was within her limited view and she ceased to fight him, instead taking his offer of comfort gladly. After a time, she settled into hiccups and sniffles and he moved, lifting her up bridal style and carrying her through the streets.

Blinking the remaining tears from her eyes, she looked to find that he had carried her to her home and he placed her feet on the ground at the front door. With a slightly reddened face, Aerith looked up at him. "Thank you," she said faintly.

Sephiroth shook his head, "Repayment," he said simply and turned, walking away from her.

"Wait-" Aerith called, one hand reaching out toward him as if she could stop him like that. Yet he did stop, turning halfway to look at her, "Won't you come in?"

His expression blended into a look of vague regret, "How could one such as I tread on holy ground?" he disappeared around the bend and Aerith was left standing at her door.

A feeling of guilt settled into her stomach once more. Here she had thought she was perhaps making progress with him, getting him to see the lighter side of things... and Cloud had to show up, ruining everything she had worked so hard to get. Yet... hadn't Sephiroth given her comfort when she'd needed it instead of staring blankly at her tears as if confused? Perhaps he hadn't reverted completely.

If only she knew how completely devoted Sephiroth had become to her. As if she were the holy priestess, her house holy ground. He was still confused as to why she would wish to defend him against the one who had more than enough reason to condemn him to the deepest pits of hell and practically ask him to forgive his family's murderer. Sephiroth walked in silence between the piles of junk that remained in the slums of ruined Midgar.

Pain exploded in his back as something swung out from the shadows to his left and scored firmly on him. He staggered forward and stopped, looking back to find Cloud standing there with a hefty pipe in hand. Sephiroth said nothing, simply lowered his eyes in submission. Cloud didn't move for a moment, then he lashed out once more when his old enemy didn't fight back. Several more strikes rained down after that, beating Sephiroth to his knees and he still hadn't fought back.

"Why- why aren't you fighting me?" Cloud demanded in confusion, the shock of Sephiroth's actions finally coming through his anger.

Slowly, Sephiroth took a breath.. and answered, "Because she's not here to see. Do what you like... if it makes you feel better."

The pipe came down on the back of Sephiroth's head, stars exploding in his vision. Painfully, he reached into his coat and pulled the small dagger he always kept with him, tossing it back to land at Cloud's feet. The blonde starred at the knife, well taken care of, but there was blood on the leather of the hilt. He bent and picked it up, his pipe remaining in his other hand. Moving in a slow deliberate step, Cloud came to face Sephiroth, watching as the ex-general lifted his head, his eyes clear and only holding a bottomless depth that was endless guilt. Then, his head tilted back farther, exposing his neck to Cloud.

With a shaking hand, Cloud lifted the knife to that exposed throat, expecting his feet to be swept out from under him at any moment. The blade pressed against flesh, cutting into it. "God..." Cloud whispered. "You...really are broken..." the knife dropped to the ground and Sephiroth bowed his head once more, blood dripping down his neck. He crouched before the silver haired man, the pipe resting across his knees. One hand lifted, tipping Sephiroth's chin up. "How... did you get like this?"

"Only what I did to myself," was the calm answer, though those once fierce eyes were gazing off to the side.

A sigh escaped Cloud's lips, "She said you're paying? How?"

"I cannot die. I've been rejected from the Lifestream."

Shocked, his fingers tightened on Sephiroth's chin. "...Rejected..." Even Cloud could feel the living throb of the planet, and sometimes that had been all that kept him going in the years since Aerith's death, knowing that she was part of that breathing essence that kept the world in balance, knowing that she would one day be reborn as another creature, having a new life and chances... but to be cast out... never to return, never to feel that hum of creation. Cloud stood, letting go of Sephiroth. "There's blood on the hilt," he said.

"Mine." Cloud's gut twisted, to have your own blood on the hilt? That was against everything Sephiroth had taught his SOLDIERS... that was like saying you had no respect for yourself. His eyes moved from the dagger to Sephiroth's bowed head.

"God... you're broken," he restated and slowly backed away. "Aerith is right... there's nothing I can do to you that you haven't already done to yourself." With that, he let the pipe drop to the ground and turned, heading back the way he'd come, his stomach clenched, tears stinging his eyes. No wonder Aerith had forgiven him.


	6. The Man in Red

**chapter 6**

The next day, Aerith stood in her usual place, selling her flowers, and though the sky was bright and clear, a fog hung around her. It wasn't a visible fog, but one of depression. Sephiroth wasn't across the street. She hoped he was alright. After the incident with Cloud, she wasn't so sure.

Finally, she moved from her post, forgoing the chance to make more money by staying on such a good day and traveled down to the slums. Between the piles of junk and past broken houses, in a very secluded place that was shunned by most, this was where Sephiroth had decided to stay, hidden in his dark cave a guilt.

There was no light within the depths, another analogy of Sephiroth, his eyes, no light of hope within them. Aerith paused at the entrance, aware that someone was inside, though she didn't know if he'd seen her. She reached in and turned on the lamp near the door. The battery hadn't been replaced yet, it didn't come on. She took a few steps in, finding that her eyes were adjusting to the darkness. In the back, seated on the mattress, there was a form. Aerith made her way over to him and crouched. The mattress was soggy beneath her hand.

Sephiroth hadn't reacted to her yet. She lifted her hand from the mattress to take his hand where it rested nearby, her fingers touched the apparent source of the dampness. Shocked, Aerith snatched her hand back, about to wipe it off on her dress, but she changed her mind and staggered to her feet, going to the other lamp in the room. Switching it on, she gasped in horror, her hand was covered in blood. Her eyes immediately moved to where Sephiroth sat with his knees against his chest, head down on them. In one hand was the knife she'd taken from him before, the bed was soaked in blood.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at him, she knew he couldn't die, but she went to his side and lifted his head to check his pulse, finding an unwashed cut on his neck instead. His eyes slowly opened in his pale face, glazed over. 'Releasing pain', he'd told her once. How could something like this make him feel better?

"Sephiroth- You've got to get up," she told him, clasping his shoulders, her tears spilling over and down her face. She wished she'd thought to get her cure Materia. "Please, you've got to, I- I can't leave you here like this!" Faintly, she saw a flicker of expression go across his face but then he slowly turned his face away form her. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed his arm- the one that held the knife, and pulled. "Come on! Get up!" she cried and pulled harder, managing to move him somewhat.

He blanched, his hand giving a spasm, dropping the knife to the floor. Aerith let go of his arm, watching as he clasped it against his ribs in apparent pain. "God, what else have you done to yourself?" she asked softly and crouched on the mattress once more, though on his left side so as to not get her dress bloody. She shoved him forward as best she could, her eyes falling upon the back of his head, where blood had matted his hair flat. Pressing her lips into a line, she pushed harder, "Sephiroth! Get up!" she cried, "You stubborn idiot!"

Another wince of pain and he curled up into a slightly tighter ball. With sudden intuition, Aerith pulled his shirt and jacket up off his back, trying to look at whatever damage there was, but her shadow got in the way. Getting to her feet, she went back to the lamp and brought it over.

Long bruises covered his back, a reddened patch where one of his ribs had broken. That had been what he'd clutched. "You couldn't have done that to yourself... Sephiroth- who did this to you?" Aerith crouched once more, cupping his face in her hands, making him look at her. "Who did this to you?" His lips trembled and instead of answering, he closed his eyes. "Well if you're not going to answer me, then you'd better get up and come with me. I'm not leaving you." She got up once more and grabbed up both his hands, giving a solid tug. Another wince and finally, he got up, finding it to be less painful if he just cooperated... just like in the labs. Aerith turned off the lamp and left it where it was, instead taking Sephiroth's arm and putting it over her shoulders, trying to help support him as they left his cave of darkness and headed toward her house.

It took almost an hour to get him there, he kept falling and wouldn't get up again without her being forced to hurt him, she felt so guilty, but she would heal him as soon as they got to her house. At the doorstep, he collapsed again, but Aerith let him say there, instead going inside and getting her staff, dashing back outside to find that he'd tried to crawl away, only to collapse once more. Out in the better light, he looked terrible, crouching, Aerith pulled up his shirt and jacket once more to get a better look at the bruises on his back, tracing one slowly. Finally, she shook herself and brought out her mastered cure Materia, reaching for the power of the Ancients- only to have it dodge her hold.

"Please," she begged of the powers, "Please let me heal him!" They weren't listening. She put her Materia away and reached down to gently brush his hair back from his face. "I'm sorry... they're not cooperating." Sephiroth simply closed his eyes, as if he'd expected that answer in the first place. "I'm still not going to leave you like this. Get up." She pulled at his arm once more and slowly he got to his feet, swaying and falling against her when she moved to catch him. Turning, she guided him back to her doorstep, where he stopped once more. "Sephiroth, you're going to come inside," she said firmly, "I'm going to have to put bandages on you and it'd be nice if they were cleaned first."

Once more, he was forced to cooperate or face pain and he slowly stepped into her opened door, head bowed. Aerith led him to a chair and helped him to sit before she hurried off to dig up something to use as bandages and some clean water.

* * *

Sephiroth wasn't sure when he passed out, but somehow, he'd ended up in a bed... a real bed with a headboard and all. The room he was in was decidedly ...pink. He felt like crap, and even saying that was an understatement, his head ached, his ribs were still broken and his back still bruised. Slowly, he moved, finding that he'd been stripped down to his pants, but at least he was under the blankets.

And someone had washed him. It was nice to feel clean, but it had to have been Aerith who had done it and that was vaguely embarrassing. His hair was still slightly damp, but only where he'd been laying on it, so that might mean he'd been out for a while. He could feel cloth bandages restricting his breathing, but it wasn't like his broken ribs weren't doing that already. His left arm was bandaged from the shoulder down to his palm, his neck had a light wrapping on it, as did his head.

Vaguely, Sephiroth supposed he looked like he'd been through a battle...except that he hadn't fought back. He was his own enemy. Disgracing himself before Cloud by willingly giving his opponent his weapon... and by having his own blood on it already. It wasn't like Sephiroth could ever use it on anyone else ever again. Cloud was right. He was broken.

If he could, Sephiroth would have committed seppuku, killing oneself to save honor... but he couldn't die, just as his foray into self mutilation had demonstrated. He technically wasn't supposed to be alive, he had practically no blood left, and even now the planet refused to let anyone heal him with Materia. Any contact with the planet's Lifeforce was forbidden. He'd found an orb of Materia once, when he first found he was alive again... He'd tried to pick it up, only to have it actually attack him on its own. He'd learned quickly enough. At least things didn't attack him just because he was walking past, the planet seemed to know when he was attempting to rejoin the flow of the Lifestream and when he wasn't.

Voices broke into his thoughts and Sephiroth strained to listen. One was Aerith's, he could pick her voice out of a million. The other was- Sephiroth closed his eyes as the door opened, pretending to be sleeping still. "Even Materia won't work on him?" Cloud asked, coming to stand beside the bed, looking down a Sephiroth's still form.

"At least cure doesn't... the planet doesn't want him contacting the Lifestream in any way... Cloud.. who did this to him? He couldn't have given himself those bruises." Aerith was on the other side of the room, where she'd moved to open the window and let the fresh flowery scent in.

Cloud was silent. Aerith turned to face him, "He wouldn't tell me who attacked him," she said softly, coming over to perch on the edge of the bed, placing her hand on Sephiroth's bandaged forehead, a sad smile touching her lips, "He's far too stubborn for his own good." Lifting her emerald eyes, she looked at Cloud's face. She noticed how he had taken to wearing dark clothing, mostly black, his jacket was brown leather. He wore a black tank top shirt with loose black pants falling over black boots. His hair was somewhat messy, but it had been that way when he showed up, as if he'd just rolled out of bed and gotten dressed in a hurry. "How did you know I'd be here?" she asked.

Slowly, the blonde shook his head, "I just knew you would be here," he replied with calmly, glancing down at his old enemy who lay in Aerith's bed, a place Cloud wouldn't have put him, but Aerith was insistent. He couldn't tell her the truth, he couldn't tell her how he'd come to at least pity Sephiroth in a vague sense. Sephiroth...a broken warrior who couldn't even save dignity by killing himself, forced to face the mess he made with no one to turn to. Except Aerith, the bright angel who had asked for Sephiroth's return.

She'd told him about what she'd asked for in her prayers, knowing that she would die, knowing that she had to die for her to carry the prayer all the way to the planet. Sephiroth had done her a favor in that, she said. Even if it had hurt it was quick and over in a moment. Aerith had told him she felt sorry for Sephiroth, she'd been given privileged knowledge of his past upon request of the planet and she said she understood him far more than anyone would. "Cloud?" Aerith's voice broke into his thoughts and he turned his blue glowing-eyed gaze toward her. "What about Tifa? You should go back to her. I'm alright. I am, really. Seph... won't hurt me."

Cloud shook his head, "I just can't trust him," he replied, "asleep or not... which I doubt he is right now."

Aerith frowned, even that expression was heavenly on her. "Cloud, don't be so mean. He won't do anything to me." Her fingers slowly twined themselves in his bangs. Cloud's gaze rested on Sephiroth once more. How like Vincent he looked with his hair like that. Vincent...

"At least have someone who can protect you here," Cloud said, "I don't think Vincent would mind getting out of that coffin of his..."

A shake of her head, "No, please don't bother him- I'd rather no one knew I'm alive again, it would mess up things." She looked up into Cloud's eyes and saw there was no use arguing with him, he wouldn't listen, not when he thought her life was in danger. She bowed her head, "Please... only Vincent. Don't tell anyone else. Not even Tifa. And if you get Vincent to come, Cloud, please don't come here again? I don't want to break you and Tifa up. Love her, forget about me."

Reluctantly, Cloud agreed. "Alright," he said softly and left the room to use the phone and call Vincent's PHS.

Aerith looked down at Sephiroth's face once more to find his eyes open, staring at the ceiling blankly. "So you weren't asleep," she said softly and put her hand to his cheek. "I'm sorry I can't heal you, I wish I could, but..."

"I know," Sephiroth murmured.

Silence settled in the room, dust motes sparkled in the light that came in through the window... it was only noon, it looked like. He had to have been asleep for quite some time. "Who beat you?"

Cloud stood at the door, silent, listening, he'd been just in time to hear Sephiroth's voice then Aerith's new question. "Only what I deserve," Sephiroth answered finally. The blonde almost breathed a sigh of relief at that answer, Sephiroth wasn't going to tell Aerith... But why would he do that? Did he really believe what he'd just said. Maybe it was a trap, but having Vincent around would certainly set Cloud's mind at rest about Aerith's safety.

As for Vincent... his reaction hadn't been all that spectacular. Almost as if he'd expected it, but then Vincent didn't react too much in the first place, so perhaps he was surprised in his own way. Cloud cleared his throat, "Vincent will be here by this evening."

Aerith smiled, "It'll be nice to see him again," she said, then looked down at Sephiroth, who was still staring at the ceiling, "Are you hungry?" She waited in vain for an answer. Finally, after long enough had passed for him to think about his answer, she spoke again, "Well you're going to eat whether you want to or not," she said firmly and was rewarded with a slight twitch of his lips. She smiled in return, "Cloud?"

"Of course," the blonde replied with a smile of his own, stepping aside to let Aerith pass before he followed her to the kitchen where she got to work making some soup. If there was only one thing he could say he missed about that time they were running around the planet chasing Sephiroth down, it was the food. They'd all taken turns, except for Cid and Cloud, who were unable to cook and after the first experiment on that the others had permanently removed those two from the schedule. Every night they'd gotten to taste the native foods of the cook's homeland and it was an interesting experience to say the least.

* * *

Evening was cold, but at least the stars were brightly shining, enough to pierce through the layer of smog above the city. Sephiroth had fallen asleep once more and Cloud had called Tifa, telling her he would be home in a bit. Aerith sat at the table with Cloud, just talking, her friend was silent, listening to her, and she feared his falling in love with her, or her falling in love with him once more. Even after all this time, she couldn't help but feel something for him.

A knock on the front door interrupted her in mid-sentence and she got up quickly, going to the door and opening it. A dark figure stood there, though the light from inside glittered off a metal arm. In a sudden leap, Aerith threw her arms around the much taller man. "Vincent! I missed you!" she exclaimed and after he'd returned her hug with one arm, she let go of him to pull him into her repaired house.

"So it's true," Vincent murmured, looking down at Aerith with a bland expression that held a tiny spark of happiness in his eyes. He looked at Cloud and nodded a greeting.

Aerith swirled somewhat, going into the kitchen, "Dinner's about ready, I hope you're hungry Vincent." She flashed a smile over her shoulder at the two men in her house, then her eyes fell on the shadow that had retreated back up the stairs. Aerith glanced around, finding a vase with flowers in it. She pulled them out, they were fresh, only picked that morning. She used a tie wrap and fastened them together, then some tissue paper. Once she was finished, she took Cloud's hand and handed them to him. "You go give these to Tifa now," she said firmly and pushed him out the door, closing it behind him. With a sigh, she sagged against the door.

A hand touched her shoulder, causing her to lift her head, then turning, she looked up at Vincent's face, giving a smile, she slid her arms around his chest and hugged him once more, feeling his hand on the back of her head. She noted that he was very much like Sephiroth in that he didn't really show much emotion but could still give support when it was needed. "Thank you," she said softly into his black shirt, "I think he's awake, if you want to go talk to him. I'll just finish getting dinner ready. Make him come down if you can?"

Vincent gave a shadow of a smile and nodded, stepping back once she'd let him go and heading up the stairs, finding two doors, only one was open, the other had boards nailed over it. So there was no doubt in which Sephiroth was.

The room was dark, only a faint amount of light came from the window, a tall broad-shouldered form blocked even more of that faint light. Vincent's eyes quickly adjusted, though, and he studied the figure who stood with stooped shoulders, head resting against the cool glass of the window, one hand pressed against it as if he could somehow will himself to be outside.

"...I knew your mother," Vincent stated without preamble, watching as the light shifted across silvery hair and slightly bloodied bandages. "I was in love with her. She was very beautiful. I wish I'd been able to save her from Hojo." There was no answer and so Vincent didn't move from where he stood in the doorway. "If you have anyone to blame for what happened to you... blame me. I could have saved her... and then you would have been my son. Never exposed to Hojo."

There was a slight shake of Sephiroth's head, "No," he said softly, "I got what I deserved. I was never as innocent as that."

Vincent gave a soft sigh. "Aerith wants you to come down for dinner." There was only a slight nod in response and Vincent turned, heading back the way he'd come.

Downstairs, Aerith was setting the table. She looked up, "That didn't take long," she said and Vincent simply shook his head, his flesh hand lifting to unclip his cloak and hang it from the hooks beside the door. It wasn't a moment after that Sephiroth appeared, still pale, but he looked better than he had the day before. He slid into one of the four chairs that were set around the table.

Vincent was next to take a seat his flesh-hand resting on the table and his claw in his lap, mostly out of sight. Sephiroth gave a long glance at Vincent, remembering him somewhat from that fierce battle with Jenova...which the silver haired man only really remembered as a series of flashes that revealed terrible deeds he'd done, or was that from Wutai? Things had become blended, knocked loose by the beating he'd received. Sephiroth simply sat with his head slightly bowed, staring at his own left hand, which rested on the table in much the same way Vincent's right did. Aerith served them both, like a good hostess. Apparently it was solid food today, Sephiroth didn't wait for any sort of grace, simply picking up his fork and began eating.

Aerith smiled, seating herself, letting her two guests eat as they liked while she gave thanks to the planet for giving them the food to eat this night. "How are you feeling today, Seph?" she asked absently as the silence started to become oppressing. Briefly, Vincent paused in his eating, glanced at Sephiroth as he did the same. The vampyric man continued moving his fork to his mouth, having a feeling that Sephiroth might not feel comfortable with so much attention on him.

"I could be worse," Sephiroth murmured, setting his fork down, only a forth of his dinner finished.

She gave a soft oh, but before she could ask another question and draw Vincent into the conversation, he stood, "I shouldn't be here."

Immediately, Aerith stood as well, clenching her fists, "Sephiroth, you sit down and eat your dinner," she said firmly, as if she were speaking to an errant child. Much to Vincent's shock, Sephiroth obeyed, sitting down with a thump, his head bowed slightly. "Eat," she repeated and he picked up his fork. Finally, she retook her seat, looking slightly pale, as if shocked by the power her mere words had over her former murderer.

Vincent was silent still, having nothing to say, or at least nothing that was polite to speak about at the dinner table. Aerith spoke again instead, "How have you been, Vincent? What have you been doing?"

A slight quirk to his lips, and he replied, "In the basement."

"Sleeping I suppose," Aerith replied, carefully cutting her meat. Sephiroth was silent, concentrating on eating, as he'd been told to do.

Vincent gave a slight nod. "You can use the couch-" Aerith started to say but she stopped when Vincent shook his head.

"I'll manage," he replied and she gave a slow nod.

Sephiroth set his fork down once more, though this time his plate was cleaned. This earned a nod of approval from Aerith and she finished her dinner and cleared the table. Finally, Vincent turned toward Sephiroth. "Why?" he asked softly, voice pitched so that Aerith couldn't hear over the running water of the sink.

"I owe her much," Sephiroth replied and Vincent seemed to accept that answer and fell silent.

Aerith turned to face them once she'd finished rinsing the plates and setting them to soak for a bit. "Alright, Seph, you can stay in my room, I'll sleep on the couch."

Once again, she was answered with a head shake. "No," Sephiroth said softly, "If you insist that I stay here, then at least use your own room." She pressed her lips together, wondering if she could possibly use whatever power she had over him once more, but she felt bad for yelling at him already, so she gave a sigh and slight nod of her head.

"Alright," she said and moved to the closet set under the stairs, pulling out extra blankets and pillows, carrying them to the living room portion of the main room, spreading a sheet over the couch cushions, then putting a pillow in place, and spreading a blanket out over that. "Vincent, are you sure you'll be alright?" Her glance was met with a slight nod. Sephiroth still sat in his chair at the table, hands clasped in his lap and eyes staring blankly in front of him. She gave a smile to them, going to Sephiroth and patting his head, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, but even if you can't die, I won't let you not take care of yourself." Her hand slid down his hair, marveling at how silky it was when clean. Lifting her eyes from Sephiroth's shining hair, she smiled at Vincent, "Good night." She moved up the stairs and was soon out of sight.

Vincent was silent for a moment until the sound of the door upstairs closing announced that there was no chance that Aerith would hear them. "You care for her," the dark haired man stated, not a question, but simple fact.

"I have no right to," Sephiroth replied, his voice a bare whisper. "After all that I've done to her. How she can stand being around me..."

Silence descended upon them once more and Vincent reached into his pocket, pulling out something folded in a kerchief. Setting it on the table, he slowly unfolded the aged cloth to reveal a picture, a ring, and a piece of paper, obviously read many times. Vincent picked up the picture, looking at it wistfully before sliding it across the table to Sephiroth. "You have her eyes," the dark haired man said softly, watching as Sephiroth hesitantly touched the picture.

A woman of intense vitality grinned back at him from the flat piece of photographic paper. She had green-blue eyes and an almost childlike face. Her hair was brown, bangs cut short and fluffed over her brow, the rest was long, hanging free down her shoulders as she posed with some friend, flashing a Victory sign. She was wearing a lab coat. The man had chin length black hair, slightly mussed from his being glommed on by the woman. His eyes were dark brown and his face seemed unwrinkled simply because of his lack of expression, but in the picture, his lips held a hint of a smile as one hand clung to the woman's. Faintly, in the background, a much less dilapidated version of the mansion in Nibelheim could be seen.

"Her name is Lucrecia," Vincent continued softly, "She hardly deserved what Hojo did to her, but she was... ambitious. She wanted to make her mark on the world. That's why she wouldn't marry me, or so she said. Hojo promised her what she wanted; he had a way of giving it to her..."

"This man... is you," Sephiroth said softly and Vincent tilted his head downwards a fraction. After he'd memorized the woman's face, he slid the picture back to Vincent who silently placed it back onto the kerchief. Next was the note, Vincent carefully unfolded it and set it on the table for Sephiroth to take. A moment passed before Sephiroth reached for it.

The writing was a scrawl of cursive curls, the ink had faded somewhat from age and the paper felt like cloth on the verge of ripping at the fold lines. Faintly, Sephiroth could make out a ShinRa watermark.

_'Dear Vincent, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you this in person. I just couldn't. I'm sorry. Hojo wants to try human experimentation with the Jenova cells and I've agreed. Vincent, please don't hate me for this, but I believe that it's what's best for me, for my career. If I were involved in something this big- Hojo says that the child will be powerful beyond imagination, a monument of perfection! Please support me in this, Vincent. I need you. I love you. – Lucrecia'_

Sephiroth slowly folded the letter and returned it to its owner, folding his hands in his lap once more. "I-" Vincent started, having to clear his throat, "I'm sorry, this doesn't really fix anything. But do know that she cared for you, even if it had started out as a career move. She had all sorts of plans. She wanted to take you to the beach someday. She talked about playing in the snow with you. She loved snow. She would have loved your hair if she'd gotten to see you. Hojo left her to die. Poisoned her with Mako and Jenova. She never got to hold you."

Vincent suddenly stood, folding the kerchief around his packet of objects from Lucrecia, "It's late, you're hurt. Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning." With that, he left, going out the front door.

Slowly, Sephiroth got to his feet, glancing at the door, knowing he could probably slip out while Aerith was asleep upstairs, but she wanted him to stay here. He feared getting her mad by leaving and blew out the lamp on the table. He moved to the couch, picking up the blanket and sitting down on the couch, stretching out on it, yawning widely, unable to keep himself from it. Almost as soon as he was still, sleep mugged him from the shadows.


	7. Innocence

**chapter 7**

Vincent stood beside the couch, staring down at Sephiroth's face as the ex-general slept quietly. It was only dawn, Aerith was still asleep, and Vincent wasn't surprised that Sephiroth was as well, after what he'd done to himself. Slowly, Vincent kneeled beside Seph, his flesh hand reaching out to touch smooth and pale skin.

Sephiroth stirred, shifting on the couch somewhat and causing Vincent to go still. He had not woken, so the vampyric man continued to reach out, his warm fingers touching the face of his beloved's son. To this day, Vincent could remember how Lucrecia had looked that night. _'I want you to take me, Vincent,'_ she'd said, _'I can't stand the thought of Hojo touching me like that.'_ Though Hojo had still injected his own seed within her through a hypodermic needle. There was still a chance, small as it may be, that Sephiroth could not be related to the insane creature that had been Hojo...

In a swift move, Vincent stood, walking away from Sephiroth, his flesh hand gripping his arm just where the metal stared. "I'd be doubly to blame if he were my son," Vincent thought to himself, gazing toward the ceiling.

"Oh- Vincent," Aerith said softly, drawing the dark man's attention toward the stairs where she stood, wrapped in a pink night gown and matching bathrobe. She continued on down the stairs and looked up at his face, "You shouldn't brood so much," she reached up to flip a piece of hair out of his eyes, "It makes you look old."

Turning, she looked toward the couch where Sephiroth was still asleep. A faint smile touched her lips. "Do you mind having oatmeal for breakfast?" Aerith asked Vincent as she glided into the kitchen, her hips swaying beneath the pink cloth that covered her, even Vincent had to admit that she was attractive, but just as Sephiroth had said, he had no right to care for her. He'd cared before, and now what did he have? Nothing but guilt and broken dreams.

"Vincent?" Aerith asked again when she got no answer.

"It's fine," he said finally.

Aerith glanced toward the couch once more, "I'm glad he's still here... did you have to make him come back?" Vincent shook his head, "Oh," she murmured, giving a smile, "Then perhaps I'm getting through to him."

The dark man's reaction was simply a slight nod, and he moved to have a seat at the table. At least Aerith didn't have to fight with Sephiroth's stubbornness alone now, Vincent would help as he could, but how could one man filled with guilt reassure another of their innocence?

Vincent placed his elbow on the table, his chin resting in his flesh palm as he listened to Sephiroth's soft breathing behind him and Aerith's cooking noises. A change in tempo alerted Vincent to Sephiroth's awakening, though the silvery haired man didn't move from where he lay, simply listening to Aerith.

"I love mornings!" Aerith breathed, looking out the window in the kitchen, "They're just so... fresh!" She swirled a bit, coming to the table after she'd finished putting the pot filled with water on the stove to boil. Her two guests didn't answer her attempt at a conversation. She sat silently for a bit, but it began to get to her once more and she spoke up. "Vincent, do you like anything? Like mornings or something like that?" He shook his head.

Aerith almost scowled, but Sephiroth had painfully sat up on the couch and was trying to fold the blanket with stiff muscles. Immediately, she got up, going to help him. Somehow, their hands touched in the process and activity stopped, Aerith lifted her eyes to Sephiroth's face to see if he was blushing as deeply as she. Her moment of distraction allowed him to take the blanket from her and fold it one last time before setting it aside. Sephiroth stood, slowly, his right hand clutching his ribs a moment before he moved to the table to take the seat he'd used the night before.

She pouted. Sephiroth WAS a handsome man, when he allowed himself to be. When asleep, his scars lifted, showing what truly lay upon his flesh. Perhaps it was true that people showed their true selves in slumber. If she could prove to Sephiroth... but he was here for punishment. Maybe. Aerith shook her head, putting those thoughts aside for later. Sephiroth was staring at her because she'd simply been standing there, staring off into space. She went to the kitchen to pour the oatmeal into the hot water and stirred it until it had finished.

Bringing it to the table, she returned to the kitchen to get three bowls and spoons, set them out before her guests and one for herself. Finally, she sat and watched as Sephiroth immediately grabbed up the pot- paused, glanced at her and pulled her bowl over to serve her first. He didn't do the same for Vincent. Which was fine, for Vincent apparently didn't want much.

Silence descended once more, or perhaps it was ascended from the depths of Hell, for Aerith was very uncomfortable with it. How could something from the sky be evil? She shook her head. Stupid question, though Meteor hadn't been evil in itself, simply called by an evil source. Her eyes trailed to Sephiroth who was concentrating on eating, his bangs covering his eyes and hiding most of his expression from her, though what she could see of his eyes were pools of dark shadow.

"Did you sleep well, Seph?" she asked finally, got a nod in response. Her temper broke and she set down her spoon with an authoritative clink. "Would you two TALK to me!" she demanded.

Vincent seemed to come out of his daze and look at her straight on, though it seemed his eyes were covered by shadows as well. "What is there to say?" he asked, reminded of Lucrecia by Aerith's expression. His heart ached.

Sephiroth had stopped eating, but his head remained bowed. "It's hard to eat and speak at the same time," he said softly, "and you told me to 'eat' last night, I thought that order was still standing."

Aerith stared at Sephiroth. "Order...?" she blushed, "I- I didn't mean it like that- Seph, you don't have to do everything I say..." She covered her face with her hands. "Is that what you really think of me?" she asked him, removing her hands to look at him once more, though he still hadn't lifted his head. Moving to the chair next to him, she scooted closer to place her hands on his face, turning him to look at her. "Why?" she asked simply, unable to figure out some other question for the moment. He didn't answer, instead lowering his gaze from her face. "Sephiroth, I... I may have told the planet this was punishment, but I truly felt that what you did wasn't all your fault!" she moved her hands to his shoulders and shook him slightly. "Seph... I- I know what you went through. I asked the planet for your past and it told me almost everything. Please don't treat me like this. I don't want to be your boss. I just want to do what I can to help heal you."

Vincent had slipped out of the room at some point, finding it a much better option than being a third wheel. He had no reason to listen to the conversation, and perhaps Sephiroth would appreciate less ears knowing of his disabilities.

"Why help me?" Sephiroth asked slowly, lifting his eyes to look at her mouth, unable to bring himself to look any higher.

She shook her head, sliding her arms around his shoulders and putting her head against his chest. "Because, if I'm anything, I'm a healer. You're in pain and not everything done to you was your fault. A lot of it wasn't your fault. You weren't some sort of criminal for being born. No one's at fault in this whole thing for just making some bad decisions. We're all human in the end."

"You're not," Sephiroth stated, as if that somehow made her perfect, devoid of any flaw possible.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. "It's polite to return a hug given," she reminded softly and after a moment, Sephiroth linked his arms around her. It was nice, but he chided himself for feeling pleasure in holding her. "And I'm not perfect, Sephiroth, just because I'm half Cetra doesn't make me perfect. I've made mistakes too."

Silence met her words. Aerith lifted her face to look into his eyes. He was captivated, like a butterfly in a net, unable to escape. He returned that steady emerald gaze. Aerith was about to say something, and though his heart raced to hear her every word, he didn't want to talk about it any further.

Her eyes widened at the one thing she never expected to have done to her, especially from Sephiroth, but then... they closed and she relaxed into it. Her hands slid into his hair, in response, he pulled her closer, deepening what he had started.

Eternity rushed to be packed into one moment, and finally, their lips parted. Time returned to normal speed. Aerith tucked her head against his chest, under his chin. His heart was pounding, she could hear every beat, a soothing steady rhythm. "Seph..." she murmured, "Can I ask you to do one thing? It's not a demand or anything..."

"Yes," his voice thrummed in her ears, so close to its source, so mellow, yet roughened by the years and excitement.

"Forgive yourself?"

"...I'll... try," he whispered, arms tightening around the treasure he'd had the gall to steal. Aerith sighed in pleasure, letting her eyes close. She would remember this morning forever.


	8. Visions of the Pink Cat

**Chapter 8**

Sephiroth was awed by how Aerith could fit herself so perfectly against him, how her flowery scent filled his lungs and make him feel light-headed. He was mesmerized by the shine of the early morning sunlight on her hair-

-and someone had to clear their throat.

Aerith lifted her face and looked at Vincent, who was standing near the front door and looking vaguely embarrassed. She then looked at Sephiroth, met his eyes, and they both jumped back from each other, blushing and trying to look like the whole incident hadn't happened. Vincent was fine with pretending it hadn't happened and returned to the seat he'd left.

"So-" Aerith said, still blushing, "What should we do today?"

Sephiroth tried to look stoic by randomly glowering at things and not looking at Aerith. He still wasn't quite sure what had come over him. He didn't have the right to do what he'd done, apologizing was out of the question... it was just.. she was talking and he wanted her to stop. What else could he have done? He closed his eyes and gave a sigh.

"-Go to the market," Aerith was saying, "Does that sound alright to you, Sephiroth?"

Slowly, he looked at her, "I don't care," he said, getting glared at. Aerith almost looked like a cat, if she'd had the ears for it, she would have had them laid back and her tail flicking violently behind her. A cat in pink... Sephiroth started to laugh. He couldn't help it. This wasn't the smartest move when Aerith was in such a mood, though.

"_FINE_!" she shouted at him, "I'll go by myself!" she got up and stalked up the stairs to get dressed.

Sephiroth wiped his eyes, quieting down to soft sniggers and finally, Vincent spoke up, his face absolutely straight. "Why did you laugh at her?"

Sniffling, Sephiroth looked at Vincent, "She... looked like a cat... in pink."

"A pink cat..." Vincent repeated, thinking about it. He gave a shrug, seeing how Aerith _might_ have looked like a pink cat, but it was still rude to laugh at her. "You might want to apologize," he suggested.

Aerith returned, wearing her usual pink dress and carrying her basket. She came down the stairs looking a little calmer, but not by much. She walked toward the front door, aware of Sephiroth's returned giggles. Opening the door, she looked back at the two men at the table.

"Bye, Pink Kitty," Sephiroth said, raising one hand and wiggling his fingers at her. Once more, she fumed, turning and slamming the door shut behind her.

Vincent lifted his hand and scratched his nose with one finger. "You _REALLY_ should apologize," he commented.

* * *

Aerith stood on her usual corner, basket full of flowers, and a terrible expression on her face. "Pink-colored cat!" she fumed. "Where did he get THAT from! Ouu! If he wasn't hurt so bad already I'd hurt him myself!"

"Ano..." A man was standing in front of her, blinking in surprise at her outburst, "Are those for sale?"

Stuffing her anger away, she smiled brightly at him, "Yes," she replied, "One gil each."

The man gave a smile in return, "I'll take twelve," he said, pulling out his money.

Once he'd gone, her eyes lowered to the basket she held, her thoughts returning to Sephiroth.. and a blush returning to her cheeks. One hand lifted slowly to touch her lips. "One moment... he's so innocent... so hurt inside and only I can see it... and the next-" she breathed softly, "So much strength- enough for us both... and then he turns into an immature asshole," she finished, her fingers curling into a fist. It wasn't long before her hand relaxed and returned to holding her basket, the analytical part of her mind kicking in. "Perhaps he laughed at me because he was embarrassed? He hadn't intended to hurt me, he never really socialized and probably doesn't know something like that hurts people." She lifted her eyes. "Defense," she stated. "That's all it was."


	9. Introspection of the Damned

**Chapter 9**

Silence pervaded the house like death itself had come to visit. Aerith had only just gone to the market and Vincent had gone outside. That left Sephiroth to himself. Which was the last place he wanted to be. When he was alone the memories returned. In the silence, the voices of innocents screamed for mercy and were not heeded, children burned alive in their houses, parents slain by Masamune.

Aerith was the key to keeping these horrid things at bay, but he had laughed at her. Driven her away.

Sephiroth opened his eyes and stared at his hands, once so strong and capable. Once he'd been looked upon as the epitome of humanity. The marble statue of perfect beauty and power. No longer- never had he truly been that. "Broken," was murmured softly in the silence that no longer seemed quaint, but threatening. Broken was what Cloud had called him. "I was always this way, I just never let anyone see. Why do I let Aerith see?" He lifted his eyes to stare at the flowers in the vase on the table, yellow flowers with large centers and flat petals on long slender stems like little suns. He knew the answer to his question. He knew but feared articulating the thought.

But it had to be said, or nothing would change, he would remain the same broken warrior with no hope of regaining the favor of the planet, no hope of ever gaining his own respect, something far harder to do than anything that might seem impossible. He took a slow breath, staring at the flowers on the table, lifting one hand to pluck one from the green glass vase. "Because," he whispered to the yellow petals as he brought it close to his mouth, slowly twirling it against his lips. "Because I don't want to be alone anymore. How happy others seem when they have companionship... I may have been a bigot, and an asshole, but I did learn one thing.. Cloud was always stronger than me. I had no chance in the universe so long as he had people to pull him back from madness.

"I gave up."

Slowly he lowered his eyes, focusing on the flower, looking at the grains of pollen and texture of the petals. "In the end I gave up. I realized it.. though I was afraid to truly admit that he was stronger- my better. Jenova. You were so disappointed with me." He shook his head firmly. "Only because I didn't carry out your plans. I meant nothing to you. I was only a pawn."

Nothing more entered his mind, nothing more needed to be said for the moment. And that was good. At least now the memories had drifted away, the silence returned to quaint and homely, the cold feeling left the room. Closing his eyes fully, he tipped his head back, though not without a bit of pain.

Aerith smiled at the people she passed, having left her usual corner just to take a walk through the streets of the upper plate. This... this was what she fought so hard to save. A world in which people could live freely, do whatever they wanted- whatever made them happy. That was the important thing. Happiness.

She looked up and blinked in surprise to find herself near the edge of a large hole in the upper plate... and nothing but low ruins and the setting sun beyond. Lifting her chin, she let the golden light bathe her face, eyes half closed. A gentle sea breeze swept upwards, then blew stronger, stealing some of her lighter flowers and casting them toward the slightly overcast sky. Taking her basket in one hand, she reached back, finding the ribbon that bound her hair and pulled on it, feeling the wind whip her hair back. For a moment her hand worked, unbraiding the thick locks and letting it flow freely.

How wonderful it felt. To be on top of the world. Everything below. Everything lain out for your taking, everything presented to you, simply because you were there. "Was this how you felt?" she asked softly of the wind, "Was it how you felt when you were General?

"I remember- I was six.. or so. And you saved me and mom. You showed us the way out of Hojo's lab and you stayed to appease Hojo's anger at losing us. I remember... I looked up to you then. You were so strong. You probably don't even remember that, do you?"

Her green eyes, watering slightly from the memories and the slight sting of the wind, closed. So wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the silent figure behind her. His hair flowing about as freely as it could when bound by bandages, hands stuffed in the pockets of his dark jacket.

"I still look up to you.. because no matter what- you'll always have that strength and compassion within you. I know. I've seen it." Aerith opened her eyes, staring out across the ruins of Midgar and beyond that, in the distance, the inner sea. Far in the distance.

"And you think you can bring it out again."

Aerith stiffened, slowly turning around to face Sephiroth where he stood stoically. He tried not to stare at her. The wind pulled at her hair, twisting it and flinging it into her face, the sun behind her caught the strands and turned them amber and molten gold, forming a halo around her. He watched as she relaxed, a smile coming to her lips. "I do," she replied. "But I can't do it without your help," she said softly, "Are you willing to make the effort of forgiving yourself and letting me help you?"

Sephiroth lowered his eyes, and despite their lack of Mako glow, their color still shifted from blue to green depending on his mood. At the moment, they were icy blue. Taking a slow breath, he stepped forward, then lifted his eyes, meeting hers once more, and moving to stand beside her on the edge of the hole in the upper plate. She turned to continue looking at him, the hand still clutching her ribbon lifting to hold her hair back from her face. A smile came to her lips. So few words, yet sometimes, his actions spoke far louder than anything his soft voice could say.

Turning towards the west fully once more, she gazed at the fading colors that were cast across the sky as if reaching towards the clouds for a last embrace, a fleeting chance for the sun to remain in the sky. They stood in silence until the sun had fully set but the clouds still persisted on holding a faint rosy hue.

Turning her angelic eyes up toward his face, she offered a smile and asked, "Did you ever watch a sunset like this?"

His gaze flickered down to meet hers, though he did not turn his head for the moment. "No," he replied, "I was always too busy."

"Oh," Aerith murmured, then brightened, "Well... Thank you for letting me share this with you."

He blinked, returning his gaze to the west, his face showed no expression, but she got the impression that he was slightly puzzled. She shook her head, lifting one arm to link with his, his hand remaining in his pocket. The sky was getting darker, but there was still enough light for her to see the slight movement of his eyebrows. They lowered fractionally though the rest of his face remained emotionless.

"So... why did you call me a pink cat this morning?" she asked coyly and was rewarded with the faintest of blushes.

Sephiroth shook his head ever so slightly. "You... looked like an annoyed feline in pink. That was all. I-" he stopped, taking a slow breath, "I apologize for... laughing at you."

Thankfully, she managed to hold in her own giggle long enough to hear his last words, then leaned against his side, sniggering. "A pink cat..." she said again, "Of all the things." She lifted her glittering gaze toward his face again. "You've got quite an imagination.." tipping her head to the side, she smiled quietly, "I learn something new about you almost every day."

Finally, he turned his head to look at her. "Is that a good thing?" He was giggled at again.

The faintest hint of a smile touched his lips and her giggle died away. Unable to look away, she stared at the beautiful flower that had rather suddenly bloomed for her. Just for her. She never wanted to see anyone close up as tightly as he had been.

Aerith had never recognized it growing up, but now she knew, now she understood the small signs that had always been there. The things that had always made him seem so cold weren't simply anal retentiveness, but defense mechanisms. Sephiroth had been hiding, hiding from the world, and himself.

She never wanted to see anyone close themselves off from the world so fully. Ever again.


	10. BWAHAHAA! new chapters are fun!

**Chapter 10**

Sephiroth sat by himself, looking out across the vast emptiness of the land beyond Midgar. Though the reactors had been stopped the planet wouldn't be the same... or at least wouldn't heal immediately. The wound in the north still glowed slightly and his heart ached for the feel of just being truly alive.

Though Aerith had forgiven him and was teaching him how to forgive himself... how could he possibly get the planet to forgive him? The thought nearly made him lose all hope for ever finding true peace or happiness. But to show signs of that while Aerith was seated beside him...? No. He refused to let her see that. She was braiding the remaining flowers in her basket into a necklace, humming to herself as she did so.

So innocent. She said she knew everything about his past... how could she and still find it within her heart to forgive him? She must know that he'd actually somewhat WANTED to destroy the world... that he had enjoyed killing her on some level? How could she not? "We should go somewhere," she said out of the blue, breaking into his thoughts. "We should go to Mideel. This place is so cold and lonely... and has too many memories for us both. We should go somewhere beautiful and build a house."

His eyes gazed at her from the corner of his eyes, but he didn't respond, letting her spin out her little silken dreams. Her smile widened as she looked up at the stars that could now be seen since the lack of light from the city left nothing else. "We could build a house... and have a dog. Or two... or maybe just a cat." She turned her face towards him, tipping her head to the side slightly. "What would you prefer?"

He looked away swiftly, not wanting to be caught staring at her. How beautiful she was in the starlight. He'd never noticed.. Her skin glowed in the light of the rising moon and she seemed ethereal. Then he remembered her question. What would she prefer? It seemed safest to answer whatever she wanted... but he couldn't tell from her voice, and he risked a glance, finding no clue in her expression. He finally settled with the truth and answered, "I don't care." At her somewhat pouty expression, he felt compelled to continue, "I've never had a pet before. I really don't know which I would find more enjoyable to be with."

This brought her smile back and she gave a soft laugh. "Well, I suppose we'll have to have one of both then." She paused, looking away briefly, "You wouldn't mind living with me... would you?" she asked, letting some of her uncertainty color her voice. After all, it was only fair that if she asked him to be open with her that she do the same. "I'm not perfect," she stated suddenly, fingering the chain of flowers in her lap. "I get lonely and I have problems..."

"And do you have a problem now?" he asked, startling her with his ability to catch her drift so easily... and with his apparent openness to listen to her problem.

Offering a smile, she lifted her eyes from the flowers, meeting his gaze. "Maybe," she said softly. She looked coy suddenly, "But do you really want to listen to me whine about it?"

His expression was rather amusing. In the moonlight, his confusion was quite evident, and he answered, "Only if you wish to tell me."

The tone of his voice worried her, and Aerith looked down, then out across the landscape beyond the drop off of the upper plate. It was late, and probably Vincent was worried. She hoped not... but she didn't want to leave until... until something happened. Sure, she'd gotten him to open up to her, but why was speaking her own problems so hard to do? She shivered slightly, the cool night air beginning to get to her.

For a long moment, she continued to remain silent, and she forced herself to continue. "I want to tell you," she said softly, fingers picking at the stems of her flower necklace. "But it feels so odd." She blinked, lifting her head as she felt his jacket settle around her shoulders. It was warm and comfortable and she couldn't help the blush that stained her cheeks as she snuggled into it, aware that it smelled like him... a very pleasant smell. "I want a family this time," she started from a random spot in her long list of problems. "I want to live a life where I'm not stared at as strange and I want to... to have someone. Even when I was with other people, I've always felt lonely. Even though I really cared for Zack, I never felt like he really understood me."

"Wait... Zack? Tall, black hair-"

"Yes, the Zack that went on the Nibelheim mission with you," she answered, giving a sigh.

He was silent... and she remained so. Sephiroth turned to face her, sliding his legs around so he could keep the pain from his neck. He was beginning to get very tired- after all, he'd lost a lot of blood. "Go on," he gently urged her and she looked towards him, expression softening beyond anything he'd seen her direct at anyone... even Cloud.

She bowed her head once more, collecting her thoughts and forging on. "I guess... I guess what I'm trying to say is that... I really think you understand me. And that despite how weird it is, I..." she paused again, "I wouldn't mind if..."

"You know I wouldn't let myself," he answered truthfully. This was... a moment. Something important was happening, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "I'm cut off from the Lifestream and probably even attempting to have children wouldn't work."

Aerith's hands set aside the flowers and she pulled her knees against her chest. Tears stung at her eyes as she stared forward, "I know," was her whispered response.

Why did he suddenly feel like a heel? Like he'd done something wrong. He stared at her- his heart beating faster and chest feeling tight. "I'm sorry," he said finally, "Perhaps we should talk about this when I'm not so tired."

Immediately, she moved, "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, picking up her basket as she stood gracefully. Somehow he couldn't help but think that was a sarcastic note in her voice. "I should have remembered that you're not well."

Hastily, he stood and she started off. Out of pure instinct, he grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him. For the second time that day, her eyes widened with the shock... and closed in pleasure. His large hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her hard against his hips. Their lips parted briefly – only long enough for him to whisper, "I don't have the right," and he kissed her again, growing deeper and more needy. Her heart thudded in her chest and her face turned red as he pried her mouth open with his tongue and slid in to taste.

The basket hit the ground and bounced, falling to its side. "I have no right," he breathed again, diving in to bruise her lips with his. Hesitantly, she returned his questing within her mouth... Not even Zack had kissed her like this and Sephiroth left off her mouth, moving down. Crouching slightly, he slid his arms around behind her fully. His lips found her collar bone as he lifted her up. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders for balance, and as his face found her cleavage and began to nuzzle his way into it, her knees parted, wrapping her legs around his hips and locking her ankles.

"Sephiroth," she moaned softly, feeling one strong hand on her rear, holding her up while his other slid up, finding the buttons of her dress and undoing them enough to slide one strap of her dress down her arm. Her bra, a strapless was pulled down easily, leaving her exposed and ready to be ravished. She shivered in his grip, curling around him, breath beginning to go ragged. How long had she dreamed of this? It didn't matter as to who was the one doing it, just so long as they loved her- but to be touched... kissed in this way by her first crush ever.

She wanted more. And so did he by what she could feel pressing against the thin barrier of her panties. The thought struck her suddenly- but she pushed away her reservations. After all, she was nearly twenty five now. She was an adult... and she wanted him!

Aerith's eyes widened as she felt his hand slide up her thigh, sliding beneath her and finding her dampened underwear, fingers exploring the area just as his tongue was exploring the expanse of her breasts. "Is this..." he whispered, "alright with you?" he asked, nearly begging for her answer to be yes. He felt as if his knees were going to give out. He'd lost a lot of blood only a few days before and now most of it was located in one region of his anatomy.

How funny that he was virgin... He doubted she was. After all, she'd had a life, had relationships with men before. How could she have resisted such an urge. Even he had pondered just finding some random woman and losing himself in her. But Hojo had never given him the chance. Her moan started as something nearer to a mere vibration before becoming audible. "Yes," she added to the end, drawing out the word as if it were a breath. He adjusted his hold on her, lifting her up a bit so he could get his hand under her and open his fly and ease the strain against his pants at least. He certainly couldn't do anything to her like this, but it felt wonderful to have the dampness of her panties pressed against him.

Slowly, he moved to kneel on the ground, lowering her down. He followed her, shifting so she didn't have to unlatch her legs from around him, but he was laying atop her on the bare and somewhat cold ground. But she didn't notice. He moved up to her mouth once more, hand moving aside the barrier of her panties and placing his head there to keep them from moving back into the way. He really should take them off her, but he didn't want to make the effort, he needed her NOW before he lost control. But was she ready for him? He couldn't tell.

He readied himself to slide in anyway. Pressing forward-

Pain lanced through his body. Arching up from the ground- through her. He didn't know if he'd screamed, but awareness slowly returned and he was lying on his back on the ground beside her. She hadn't replaced her clothes, but she looked very worried.

Slowly, her voice registered in his mind. "What happened? Please tell me! What happened?" she was crying.

His erection had fallen and he lay there for a moment more before making any move to replace himself in his pants. So that was the way of it. The planet wouldn't even let him have sex. Anger welled deep within his chest, but it didn't touch his face.. No, his expression simply settled into a blank but cold look. Still aching from the encounter with her natural contraceptive, he reached up, pulling her bra back into place over her slightly damp breasts, then buttoned her dress closed over them. "We should get back."

Rolling to his feet, he brushed his backside off, feeling the smoldering anger as well as the pain within his body. Hurriedly, she gathered up her basket and his coat, pulling the latter on and jogging after...

How? How could the planet do such a thing to him? Aerith could feel her tears pouring from her eyes as she watched him wall a few steps ahead of her. Why had it done that! Didn't it know that he was trying? Sliding both her arms into the handle of the basket, she clasped her elbows, feeling the heavy leather of Sephiroth's coat, smelling his scent... aware that she still wanted what he'd been about to give her. _Why_? It wasn't fair.

Aerith bowed her head as she walked, following Sephiroth's feet in the gloom that was now oppressive rather than romantic. She was surprised when they arrived back at her house and hastily wiped at her tears as she entered. Vincent was seated at the table, staring at the claws of his metal hand. "Sorry," she said to him, watching as Sephiroth moved off to the couch to sulk. "I'll make something for you-" she started towards the kitchen, setting her basket down and forgetting to remove the coat.

"It's fine," Vincent murmured. "I already found something." She stopped, giving a soft 'oh' as she stared at the kitchen window.

"I'm going to bed then," she said, and turned, heading up the stairs without giving Sephiroth even a glance. He didn't look at her either so the lack of eye contact wasn't noticed. ...except by Vincent.

The dark man moved, standing slowly, "What did you do to her this time?" he asked, trying to keep the anger from his voice. Couldn't Sephiroth just behave for once?

There was no answer and Vincent turned to face Sephiroth. "Well?"

He was met by a cold stare... that lasted for nearly five minutes, Vincent unwilling to yield and Sephiroth not wanting to explain. Finally, the ex-warrior took a breath, "Seems even having sex is getting too close to the Lifestream." He stood, moving to get the blanket and pillow out and make his bed for the night. Removing his shoes, he left the remainder of his clothes on and just lay down atop the blankets.

Blinking a few times, Vincent finally deemed that Sephiroth wasn't going to say anything more on the subject... and he truthfully didn't want to know about it. Just knowing that Sephiroth hadn't taken advantage of her was good enough- and Aerith wasn't acting like she'd been hurt in any way other than emotionally. Though, that may as well have been just as bad. He turned, leaving the house, blowing out the lamp on the table on his way out. The door closed softly, but firmly behind him.

* * *

Wrong... it was all wrong. Now all her work to get him to open up to her was wasted. Aerith curled up on her side, still aching to have him within her, but knowing that he wouldn't try it so soon after such a rejection... even though it hadn't been she who'd done it.

_'Why?'_ she tried to ask the planet, and got no answer. It was quiet. Almost guiltily so. _'Why did you do that to him! I wanted it! I want him...'_

Still there was no answer and she continued to cry, clutching her pillow against her chest in an effort to remain quiet about it. She feared waking Sephiroth... after all, he did need his sleep. Aerith couldn't help but feel terrible for what had happened. _'Why can't you forgive him? He's changed!'_ Still nothing. Hours passed, and she eventually fell asleep, oblivion she was rather grateful for.

* * *

Morning came just the same time as it always did... but it seemed too early for Aerith. She didn't want to get up. Her bed was warm and her body ached from crying most of the night. She wanted to just lie there, but the thought of leaving Sephiroth to wonder if she was mad at him got her to her feet rather swiftly.

Hurrying down the stairs, her eyes went directly to the couch.

He wasn't there. The blankets and pillows had been folded and put away, everything in perfect order. Aerith looked towards the table, finding it empty as well, noting out of place... not even a note. Adjusting her bathrobe, she headed for the door.

Relief flooded her when she saw Vincent leaning against the fence that kept people from falling into the deep creek that wound its way in front of her house. "Vincent-" she started, coming forward. Her eyes followed the finger he lifted slowly and pointed towards the garden.

Sephiroth...

He had removed the bandages and his shirt. His body was still bruised and battered, but he looked much better than when she first found him. In his hands was a sword. Far shorter than Masamune, but he wasn't doing anything of importance with it, just... running through kata. His moves were restrained somewhat, pain keeping him from extending his reach fully. Sweat glistened on his skin, possibly burning in some of the wounds that hadn't really closed yet. A few of which were bleeding again.

"How long?" she whispered.

"Since midnight."

Aerith would have looked down, except she couldn't. He was beautiful... he was terrifying. He reminded her of her death, but also of her rebirth. Mostly though, he reminded her of what she'd taken from him in revenge for killing her.

A sob broke loose and Aerith pressed her hands over her mouth, turning and running back inside. She couldn't stop, though she tried to, and instead of dwelling on it, she worked on making breakfast instead. This multitasking nearly caused her to burn her hands on the stove perhaps three times, but in the end, she only suffered from a headache and sore face and stinging eyes.

* * *

Sephiroth was aware that Vincent had been watching for some time... but when he heard Aerith's sob, he stopped and turned, watching her run back inside.. and Vincent... face still impassive as ever... was staring at him. He turned his back towards the dark man, staring towards the flowers of Aerith's garden, aware of the pain in his body, but also of the pain in his heart.

"How is it that you're able to make her cry just by existing?" Vincent asked. There was no hint of emotion in his voice, but somehow, it seemed like an accusation.

Spinning to face Vincent, the sword lifted. "Don't coat your words in honey," he snapped in answer. "Just go ahead and say it. Tell me to fuck off!"

Silence settled. Red eyes stared at stormy green. Vincent said nothing as Sephiroth moved finally, shoving past the gunman, heading towards the path leading back towards Aerith's house. Sweeping up his shirt from where he'd dropped it on the ground with all the bandages, he painfully moved to pull it on.

Vincent remained standing in the garden, staring at the flowers Sephiroth had looked at only seconds ago. Annoyance told him that he'd done the right thing.. sympathy said otherwise. He half turned, watching as Sephiroth continued past the door of the house and on into sector five. "Maybe... she won't want him back," he whispered in the silence.

* * *

Breakfast got cold in the silence. She sat at the table, staring at her plate... wondering if it was time she threw it away. Apparently they weren't going to come in and eat. She wanted to speak... but her voice wouldn't work. She had no idea of what to say... and there was no one to hear.

Slowly, she got to her feet, picking up the unused plates and putting them back into the cupboard. The forks were returned to their drawer. Picking up the plate upon which she'd put the pancakes she headed first towards the trash, then thought better of it and headed towards the door. For a moment, she hesitated, hand near the knob. But finally, she pulled it open.

Vincent was no longer leaning against the fence.

Aerith stepped out into the late morning light, looking towards the garden. Sephiroth was no longer there. Vincent was nowhere in sight. Slowly, she paced down the path leading to her garden, feet bare and getting dirty. She didn't care though. Her hands trembled as she took each of the pancakes and tore them into pieces, scattering them across the path in her garden for the birds. Her mind wasn't as silent as her voice though.

_'They left me.'_

Tears slid from her eyes as her hands moved mechanically. "They left me."

Wasn't that always the way in the end? Everyone she ended up loving always left her. Once her task was finished, she turned, heading back into her house and returning to her bed.

Nearly a year had passed since Sephiroth's leaving. That wasn't to say that she hadn't looked for him.. she had. She'd asked around as much as it was prudent to. It was almost as if he'd simply disappeared from Midgar completely. She'd heard stories of a nameless swordsman who wordlessly went around killing monsters that somewhat matched the description of the guy she'd been looking for. But that couldn't be Sephiroth. All the stories said he was blind or something like that.

Aerith couldn't help but wonder though.. was his use of a sword that day symbolic in any way? Had he forgiven himself.. or was he just hiding behind it? She hoped it wasn't the latter. She still wasn't sure how much the planet's interference that night had hurt him.

He lay sprawled on his back... the forest living and green above him... and pain shuddering through his body. If the planet would just leave him alone for a moment, he could get up and get away from the pool of Lifestream he'd stumbled upon. But no... it wouldn't let up and he was helpless. The thought hadn't crossed his mind to do anything with the pool he'd found. He'd just been chasing a monster and crashed through the brush and nearly fallen into it. That was the danger of Mideel though.

Sephiroth pushed those thoughts away, sliding into his safe spot where the pain didn't bother him... something he'd learned from Hojo. The damn bastard. He was probably already reborn as something else on this damned world. Why were his sins easier to forgive when he'd been the one to create the monster in the first place?

Inexplicably, his mind followed the trail of how many Hojo had hurt compared to the number Sephiroth had killed directly... and somehow, he ended up at Aerith. Why did his mind always return to her at moments like this? He certainly didn't know the answer. Maybe it was some sort of link between the planet causing him pain and her... like that night.

Had it really been a year? Sephiroth had lost track of the days. It was all a torment in his zombie-like life. But he had to wonder... did she ever think of him?

She stood on her usual corner, fake smile pasted in place- as usual... Her flowers were still selling as good as ever, even though their number randomly throughout the city had increased. Others had tried to cash in on her monopoly, but they couldn't seem to get the same vibrancy of color and number of flowers she had.

For a moments throughout the day though, she was left to herself, and her mind wandered back to her various problems. Another young man had decided to try and woo her... but she wasn't interested. Her dreams were haunted by those blue-green eyes framed by silver hair. A soul that would likely never heal completely.

She understood now why he'd left. Or thought she did. How could he stay when he wasn't even allowed to touch her- when he wouldn't allow himself to touch her. How could he stay when the planet still blamed him for everything even though she'd forgiven him, even though she'd fallen in love with him?

Aerith wished she'd told him. More, wished she'd realized it before he'd gotten away and told him. Stupid fool that she was. Narrowing her mind to only the thought that he'd been the one to kill her and not seeing that he had truly changed from then.

Sometime during the ordeal, he supposed he'd passed out, and now silence met his ears as he lay in a bed... somewhere. Outside, it was night, and he still ached from what the planet had done to him. He wasn't sure when they'd found him, but it was late.

However, he couldn't sleep. His previous thoughts continued to haunt him... Specifically, Aerith. Sephiroth had to admit that he missed her. He missed hearing her voice and seeing that glitter in her eyes. But as always, he'd pushed her away. Run from her because he didn't know what to do. Didn't know if he was doing the things he did do right. ... and the planet didn't approve. Well. It didn't approve of him in general, but it especially didn't approve of his being near Aerith.

She'd offered him something he could never find anywhere else... and he'd taken up his sword again and hidden behind it like the little fool he was.

Sephiroth gave a faint sigh, wishing he had a knife at the moment so he could add to the scars already covering his body. But they'd taken his weapons from him. He lay stripped to the waist beneath a white sheet in a room with two other cots and a window to his right, the door on the very other side of the room. Perhaps he was in town? ..though he'd avoided that place for various reasons, the first of which was the pool of Lifestream in the center of town.

He closed his eyes again, trying to push all his thoughts away and sleep.

"Do you think he'll be alright Doctor?"

The voice was feminine, with the tone in her voice that suggested that she was worried for more than the reason than because she didn't like people being hurt. Sephiroth tried not to sigh and kept his eyes closed.

An older man's voice answered, "None of his wounds are serious enough to cause him to pass out... perhaps he fell into that pool he was laying near? I don't know, Layla. We should let him rest in any case." The sound of them leaving preceded the door shutting, and Sephiroth opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling.

Amazing how anyone could be attracted to him still. Maybe it was the scars? Made him seem mysterious and dangerous? Yes... he was still dangerous. Why should he care about the lives of others when he couldn't die?

Or was he just fooling himself with that thought? He hadn't killed anyone yet, and he told himself it was because they hadn't annoyed him enough yet. He sat up and pushed his hair back from his face, feeling the protest of his various bruises. He was always hurt now. If not from wounds he gave himself, then from wounds the monsters he fought gave him. Sliding his bare feet to the floor, he forced himself to stand and stretched just a bit.

Sephiroth's clothes were nowhere in sight, but he made a circuit of the room, looking for them. Finally finding at least his clothes if not his weapons, he pulled them on, hands pulling his matted and dirty hair from beneath the collar of his shirt and cloak. Opening the door and stepping out of the room, he apparently startled a young but slightly plump woman seated behind a desk in the front room.

Swiftly, she stood, "Sir, are you alright? Could you tell me what happened-?" she was cut off by his taking up of his sword and knife from a shelf just to the left of the desk. Attaching the weapons to his belt, he started out the door. It wasn't like he had money to pay them... and it wasn't like they'd done anything for him except get him away from that pool. He stepped out and turned his path towards the woods instead of through town- which would take him either past the large pool of Lifestream or over it. Neither of which he particularly cared for. Even now, he could feel the planet getting ready to hurt him for being even this close.

If only Aerith were here... She may be able to convince the Planet that he had no intentions towards it... but then, it would think he had intentions towards her and hurt him anyway. Better to just not have her be around. Distracting him and probably getting in trouble.

At least if she were with him, she could explain the ache in his heart and why he could never truly stop thinking of her.

Another long day in the endless cycle of long days. This one happened to be her birthday, but there was no one to share it with, so she forgot about it. Vincent hadn't shown up again since the day Sephiroth had left... and she wondered if perhaps he'd frightened him away... Surely not...

She sat alone in her kitchen, staring at the flowers on the table as silence pressed in like a vice. How threatening it seemed at the moment. Even the ticking of the clock seemed sinister somehow. Tears welled in her eyes and she tried to stop them, but there was little need to. She was alone. Lifting a napkin, Aerith dabbed at her eyes, sniffling somewhat.

Maybe he'd left so he could figure out what he wanted? Maybe he'd left... because he didn't love her? She missed him though. "I've been unselfish for so long," she whispered brokenly, "Why can't I be selfish this once and get what I want? I sacrificed everything for you and you still take my happiness from me!" These words she directed at the planet.

_'You asked for it to be this way.'_

"I know..." she sobbed, putting her head down on the table, hands in her lap fingering the napkin. "But he understood me... he wanted to listen to me..."

_'You're not sure though.'_

Another sob racked her body, "No... I'm not sure. But I love him. Is it too much to ask for him to be accepted by the planet... at least enough for him to touch me?"

_'Then you'll beg that he be able to have children with you.'_

"I would..."

_'And after that, that he be able to use Materia.'_

"Maybe..."

_'and after that'_

"STOP IT!"

Aerith sat up, pushing her hair back from her face. "I hate you..." she whispered. "I hate you. I hate you! _I HATE YOU_!" She burst into full fledge sobs, arms wrapped around herself.

_'All in the name of survival. You wanted it this way.'_

"Leave me alone..." she begged, putting her face against the cool wood of the table once more. And the silence returned.


	11. The Man Without a Purpose

**Chapter 11**

She looked... dead.

That was the only way to describe her at the moment as he watched her from across the street. The beautiful flower among the weeds had wilted and begun to rot. Her once proud bloom had fallen and now bruised petals lay on the ground around her stem. And anger burned in his chest. She'd fallen out of the habit of wearing that slim strapped pink dress of hers. Now she wore an ankle length dark blue dress that looked like something Elmyra had tried to throw away years ago simply from its lack of real shape. The long sleeves extended down to her wrists, the neck was tall, covering her pale throat. Her face pale and somewhat gaunt and hair hanging loose and limply around her slumped shoulders.

Cloud pushed his hair back from his face and finally brought forth the courage to make his way to her. She didn't notice. Her eyes were somewhat vacant even as she stared at the ground. "Would you like to buy a flower? They're only one Gil," she murmured.

"Aerith-" he said softly, reaching out and taking her shoulders, squeezing his fingers in.. and was shocked to feel bone instead of firm flesh. His glowing blue eyes widened slightly as he moved his hands down her thinned arms. "Gods! Aerith!" he shook her a bit and she blinked, finally pulling herself from her stupor to actually see him. "What happened to you!" he demanded, "Where's that asshole Sephiroth? He did this to you, didn't he!" His fingers clenched on her arms, pulling her close so he could look directly into the lifeless green eyes that stared back at him.

"He left... a year ago."

The concept... was incomprehensible. "Left?" Cloud stammered. "Left! Just like that? Left! Then why- What happened? Where's Vincent?"

"He left. A year ago."

Silence.

Cloud blinked twice. "Left?- Wait. Back up, _why_ did they leave?"

Nothing even resembling an expression touched her face as she spoke, "I don't know."

Taking a breath, he forced his fingers to relax their hard grip on her arms, letting her sway back off her toes. "What happened to you?" he asked for lack of anything better.. how could they have left her like that? Without even an explanation! Vincent was easy enough to get a hold of and chew out for this, but Sephiroth-

But he hadn't wanted Sephiroth around her in the first place.

Cloud pushed the thoughts aside, figuring that this was best to be thought about later. "Come on." Turning, he pulled her away from her corner, dragging her towards the nearest restaurant.

"But-" she protested weakly, not having the strength to resist him. "I have to sell-"

"I'll buy the whole basket. Aerith. You're going to eat, NOW."

She felt ashamed that Cloud had seen her like this... that he'd gotten upset about nothing... that he'd gone out of his way for her and found that she hadn't been taking care of herself. What was the point though? The one she'd set out to save had proven steadfast in his sins.. stolen her heart, and left. Aerith couldn't lift her eyes from the ground, watching in fascination the backs of Cloud's boots, the toes of her boots appear and disappear beneath her skirt. The wads of gum and old papers on the road. How could Cloud really understand?

He pulled her into one of the fanciest restaurants in what was slowly becoming a city again. Swallowing, she could feel herself growing ill from the very smell in the air. Aerith tried to pull from Cloud's grip, but he proved stronger. Forcing her into a seat, Cloud sat opposite her, staring her somewhat defiant look down. She lowered her eyes again.

"What happened?" in a much more gentle voice than his previous words had been, Cloud attempted to urge her to talk. His answer as a shake of her head. "Aerith... Am I going to have to take you back to Costa Del? Show you to Tifa? You know she'd never let you-"

"I know."

Silence. The waiter came finally, handing them menus. When Aerith didn't order a drink, Cloud spoke for her. "I'll have the red wine, she'll have the same-"

"Water."

Their eyes turned towards her. To all appearances, Aerith hadn't said anything. She remained seated with her hands in her lap, knees pressed together and head bowed. "Water," Cloud repeated, "for her."

After a long and odd look towards the two, the waiter left to get their drinks. "So?" Cloud insisted.

Still, she said nothing. Simply lifted one hand to push some of her hair behind her ear. "Aerith..." he warned softly. "What happened to you?"

"I failed."

Her lips moved, but he couldn't quite believe what had come from them. But slowly, her green eyes lifted and stared directly at his. "I failed. My true challenge as a healer and I failed."

Taking a breath, as well as an educated guess, Cloud murmured, "Sephiroth?" She didn't answer, but her turning her face away was answer enough, "Aerith. You always could see the best in people... you thought _I_ was worth something... but Sephiroth... there's nothing good in him and never will be. There's nothing _to_ save."

He didn't see her tears, or the expression that finally came to her face. He didn't get the chance to. The waiter returned, placing their drinks upon the table and waiting for their orders. She said nothing and he was forced to order for her again. This time, she didn't interrupt with what she really wanted. "Two pasta dishes," Cloud stated, eyeing Aerith as she made no move to really indicate that she was even alive.

The waiter left once more, leaving them in an island of silence. The restaurant wasn't packed, but it had customers who were talking quietly with each other. The dimness of the room lit only by candles set upon the round tables, each of which was decorated by a square cloth of green, a matching size white sheet of lace over top hanging disjointed from the green. Aerith looked out of place in the fancy hardwood walls and beautiful paintings. Her hair slightly matted, clothes anything but what the other patrons were wearing. Cloud figured he didn't look much different. He was still wearing his street clothes, but, she needed to eat something before she passed out.

"What about Vincent?" Cloud asked.. Yes, he'd yell at Vincent for leaving her.

She shook her head. Once more, he was forced to pry her words, "When did he leave? Before Sephiroth? After?"

He gave her long enough to answer and just as he was about to ask again, she answered, "Same day... I went inside to make breakfast.. and they both disappeared."

Surely the implications of this weren't as severe as he imagined them to be. "And he hasn't been back since?" She gave the faintest shakes of her head. "What happened before they left?"

Already, he was choosing his next questions to get her to talk, but she surprised him. She spoke on her own. "I went outside because Sephiroth wasn't on the couch asleep and it was still early. I found both him and Vincent outside."

Not as full an answer as she could have given. Such as what they were doing. "Were they fighting?"

"No. Sephiroth was doing Katas."

Her fingers curled tighter upon the fabric of her skirt. Didn't he know? Couldn't he tell? Aerith didn't want to talk about this anymore. She didn't want to think about it.. about her inadequacy. About her stupidity in falling in love with a man who had no heart. ... or so Cloud thought.

"What kind of Katas?" Cloud had to ask.

Squeezing her eyes shut on the tears, Aerith shook her head firmly, "No. Stop it. Stop."

Silence fell again. "You wouldn't understand." She made to get up, but he was faster and already standing, looming over her. Meekly, she sat once more, hanging her head. Slowly, he sat once more. Distraction came in the way of their food though. The sight of it made her want to gag, and Aerith turned her face away, staring at the basket of flowers set at her feet.

"Eat."

The same word she'd told Sephiroth- the memory of his butt thumping into the chair at her order nearly made her laugh.. nearly made her cry. How had it happened in only a short time? How had he gotten so deep? Was it his apparent willingness to be saved despite everything, or his wanting to listen to her problems? "Aerith!" Cloud snapped, leaning forward somewhat, hand flat on the table. "Eat."

"I can't."

Cloud wouldn't take that answer though and his brows lowered slightly, "I'm not going to sit here and let you starve yourself. Eat, or I'll feed you myself."

Tears welled in her eyes, Aerith couldn't hold them back any longer. "I can't. I can't!" she sobbed, lifting her bony hands to her face, hiding her haggard features from him. "I can't.. I love him Cloud, and you won't let yourself believe such a thing but it's true!" she blurted, not wanting to keep the secret from him. Needing to tell someone before her heart tore her to pieces.

He sat in shocked silence, "Vincent?" he dared to hope...

She bolted to her feet, scowling down at him, "No!" she shouted. "Sephiroth!" Slamming her fists on the table, she wasn't aware that everyone was now looking towards her. "You don't understand because you still blame him for everything! I know he wanted to change!"

The shock wore off, leaving Cloud's eyes, only to be replaced by anger and he got to his feet as well, leaning forward, "Then why did he leave?" He immediately regretted those words. Her eyes clouded once more, mouth pressing into a thin line. Nearly tripping over her basket, she stumbled out of the restaurant and out of sight.

That settled it... he was going hunting. "Damn bastard," he growled, slamming the Gil for their food upon the table and sweeping up Aerith's flower basket. On his way back towards her house to at least drop off the basket, he counted out the flowers, dropping in more than enough Gil to cover them all and left the item just inside the door of her house. He could hear her sobbing upstairs, but resisted the urge to go to her. No, he'd get the source of this problem.

* * *

The PHS was ringing.. It was dark, silent... a dream perhaps? Vincent slowly blinked- and realized that the PHS was ringing. He stared up at the top of the coffin, collecting his thoughts. Oh... the PHS was ringing. He picked it up, thumping his elbow against the narrow confines of the coffin, pressing the receive button and putting it to his ear.

_"Vincent..."_ came the low growl that for a moment sounded unlike anyone Vincent recalled talking to. How did this person know his name? "I told you to stay with her." Oh. It was Cloud. Shit. He said nothing, a guilty silence, he knew, but what else could he say... offer an excuse? _'I didn't think she needed me there any longer?'_ He blinked up at the darkness within his coffin, feeling like he was about to start sweating. For the first time in decades...

_"You're lucky I'm not out after YOUR blood, Vincent,"_ Cloud sounded... very near the edge of just killing him anyway, just to let off some steam. _"You know how I found her?"_ Silence fell a moment and he hoped that Cloud had lost the connection.

_"VINCENT!"_

The dark man jumped slightly in his coffin. For the first time in years, he was... frightened. _"I don't think she'd eaten in days, and even then it couldn't have been much. She's nothing but bones. I blame you AND Sephiroth for this." _His tone- growled between his teeth- implied that he blamed Sephiroth the most, but that certainly didn't spare Vincent much sweat. _"If I see you anytime soon.. be prepared to have this taken out on your hide as well."_

The line went dead. Slowly, Vincent lowered the PHS from his ear, turning it off and setting it on his stomach. No... he wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon. Shit.

* * *

"Planet... where is he?"

Aerith kneeled in her little church... a home away from home, staring at the flowers that grew in the center of the floor.

_'I do not know. He is not near any of my wounds.'_

"What about my wounds?" she couldn't help but ask, looking down at the cut across her wrist that was still bleeding. The planet made no reply. 'Releasing pain' he'd said once... "It doesn't help."

She stared at the blood as it pooled on her pale, shallow skin, and dripped to the ground near her knees. "Am I really that hung up over being unable to save him? Or is it just that they left me. In the end, they all leave me. I'm tired of it. I want to rest. I want to end this game of playing at life."

"I thought I did as well."

Green light surrounded her, the wound on her wrist closing and becoming naught but a bloody scar. Aerith didn't bother looking back at Vincent as he paced forward and crouched beside her. "I didn't think you needed me any more. Forgive me." He bowed his head without turning towards her.

"Why should I need anyone?" she asked, voice hollow as her cheeks. Now... he could see why Cloud was so angry. Gods. Reaching out, he took the knife from her limp fingers and tossed it away, taking her shoulders in one arm, he pulled her up and against his chest, sliding his metal arm beneath her knees. Easily lifting her, he turned, carrying her back towards her house.

Only after they'd passed the doors of the church did he answer, "I asked myself the same question. Cloud proved me wrong. If you truly love Sephiroth that much, then I suggest we find him before Cloud does."

Her eyes widened, a spark of life returning to their dull shade. "F-find him?" she stammered, hands moving to clasp the front of his cloak. He gave a brisk nod, glancing down at her as tears filled her eyes. Then, reality dawned, "But he could be anywhere!"

"He could be," Vincent agreed. "But is he worth looking for?" He warmed his voice and lowered the volume, flesh hand gently squeezing her shoulders. "Even if it's a waste of time... time I could spend sleeping, I feel I owe this much to you. You'll have to keep your end of this though." Her tears continued to slide down along her high and prominent cheek bones, her eyes pleading to know what this supposed 'her end' could be. "I can't have you collapsing of exhaustion in the middle of a battle. Though the world isn't being threatened by Meteor, it is still dangerous." He looked down at her again after watching where they were going, this time, taking the effort to bow his head closer to hers. "In other words, you'll need to eat and sleep regularly to keep up your strength. You'll start tonight. We're leaving tomorrow."

Her fingers curled tighter on his cloak, a true smile coming to her lips, lighting up her eyes even further. She still had the ability to look beautiful despite what she'd done to herself. "Alright, Vincent," she whispered in a choked voice. Already they had passed into the shopping area of Sector Five, many of those who knew Aerith turning to look at the man who now carried her bridal style back towards her house.

"If you don't mind, I will make dinner," he told her, glancing down at her again... Already he was feeling self conscious about the people staring, but he tried his hardest to ignore them. He did owe Aerith. He HAD left her... of course, his subconscious wouldn't let him alone about it now, even though he was doing his best to fix the situation. Vincent merely hoped Cloud didn't show up again soon... he also hoped that he'd have to get back to Tifa and their baby on the way- which Vincent was rather sure Cloud hadn't told Aerith about. It somehow seemed... slightly wrong to keep it from her, and yet, how could he just tell her? Besides, it wasn't his news to tell. He nearly sighed, feet bringing him and his burden to the door of her cozy little house- even though half of it was still collapsed.

She'd have to get Sephiroth to do something about that- if the man ever turned up again. The question was 'how to find him'? Aerith unlatched a hand from his cloak, reaching back to open her front door for him, and Vincent carefully stepped in, moving to set her on the couch. Once he'd arranged the pillows around her, he turned, divesting himself of his cloak and dropping that across the back of a chair on his way into the kitchen.

Aerith watched- intrigued- as Vincent went about making a very bland dinner, and she nearly felt hungry for it. Then, it was Sephiroth. She didn't dare blink for fear of the hallucination disappearing. It was a nice dream, and one she wanted to see for real.. Vincent blended into Sephiroth so well. "He's your son."

Silver hair turned black and red eyes looked back over a slender shoulder at Aerith. "What did you say?"

She wasn't quite sure WHAT she'd said... Instead of answering, she shook her head, looking away. After a long look, Vincent turned back to making the simple chicken and noodles soup. Looking down at her hands in her lap, Aerith's mind blanked briefly.

Vincent wasn't sure when it had happened... but if it weren't for the fact that she needed to eat as much as she needed sleep he wouldn't have even thought about wakening her. Stifling his sigh, he moved closer, placing his flesh hand against her shoulder and giving it a slight shake, "Aerith," he said softly.

"mrmm..." was her response. She remained sitting where he'd placed her, as if she didn't have the energy to even fall over to the side. Her face was pale and gaunt, eyes sunken in and dark circles beneath them. He gave her another gentle shake, "Sephiroth?" she asked, opening her eyes sleepily and blinking up at him.

"We'll find him soon," Vincent promised, "Dinner's ready." And instead of moving her to the table, he simply placed the bowl of soup on a cookie sheet and used that as a trey. This, he placed on her lap and sat beside her to help balance the makeshift trey... He was fairly sure she had a real one, but hadn't wanted to look for it.

Aerith's hand shook as she took up the spoon, dipping it into the soup and lifted it to her mouth. It steamed visibly, but she blew on the spoon gently... and hesitated. "Eat or I won't take you out looking for him." She swallowed the spoonful hurriedly.

A fourth of the bowl disappeared in that manner and she set the spoon down. "I can't," she said, and yawned. Vincent nodded, taking the trey and putting it on the table, returning to lift Aerith into his arms once more and carry her upstairs to her room. "Thank you," she whispered as he tucked her under the covers, waiting a moment as she closed her eyes and rolled onto her side, back towards the door.

Outside, it had gotten dark and the room had no candles lit. He hadn't had a free hand to light any, but that was fine, it only would have stayed lit a few moments. He stood at the door, silent... listening. Her breathing changed...

Stifling another sigh, he left her door open, heading back down the stairs to the living room and sat on the couch. "Just hope she sleeps all night," he muttered, closing his own eyes and leaning back on the couch.

* * *

It had been a long time since she'd been out of Midgar, and the change was refreshing. Aerith lifted her hand and pushed Vincent's hair out of her face as they raced across the land, bounding slightly on the back of the vampyric man's gold Chocobo. Currently, their destination was Kalm. Once more... they were hunting down Sephiroth. At first, Aerith had been excited, but now that they were out... the doubts that they would never find him had returned- and the dread that Cloud would find Sephiroth first lurked at the back of her mind. And what lurked in the back of _Vincent's_ mind... was the thought of Cloud catching up with _them_ and ripping the X-Turk a new one.

He nearly shivered at the thought.

"Vincent?"

He turned his head somewhat.

"How are we going to find him?" Aerith asked, leaning forward somewhat, arms tightening around his waist. Good question. The contact also served to remind him- rather forcefully- that no matter what demons infested his head, he was still human. Or mostly anyway. .. and that thought logically led to the fact that she was already smitten with Sephiroth. Their whole reason for running around outside of Midgar.

Clearing his throat before answering, Vincent replied, "Ask around." He stated this in a matter of fact voice, trying to reassure her.

Pressing her lips together, she sat back a bit, "But what if he never went into town?"

Vincent shifted uncomfortably. "Someone would have heard about him, even through word of mouth." He hoped...

Thankfully, Aerith settled down and said nothing more on the subject. Kalm loomed ahead, merely another half hour's ride.

* * *

Silence rolled across the tall grass like waves upon the ocean. The blades shimmered in the afternoon sun, flashing gold as the embers of the summer were swept away by the cooler breezes of fall. He sat on the ground among the lately blooming flowers, their colors lost to his disinterested vision. Time would soon bring the fall rains and swiftly behind would be the snow. For the moment, however, there was a calm wind pushing the wispy clouds across the sky. He saw none of the beauty around him, though. Its richness was lost upon his hardened heart.

'Releasing Pain', he'd called it. It never helped. Merely put true scares upon his flesh that his soul already carried. It had been long since he'd looked in a mirror, having avoided them even at... her... house.

His eyes opened. Once again, his thoughts had circled back to her. How easy it was to be reminded when in such a place as this. But she would never see this paradise hidden among the mountains, for she would never find him. Even if she cared to search.

Snorting, he stood, hair getting pulled by the breeze that ruffled the grass. This rest had served no purpose. It had been an excuse to waste time in his currently purposeless life. He nearly wished Jenova were around still. Just so he would have no thoughts of his own. Jenova was dead, however, and he was living. Cursed to remain so till the planet forgave him.

Forgiveness... He'd finally learned what that was. By her hands.. but she had also been the one to curse him. He'd been the one to kill her, though, so it hardly mattered.

Lifting a hand, he pushed his hair back over his shoulders and started walking.

To where?

He didn't know.

What difference did it make?

None. So he simply walked.

* * *

She'd hardly eaten more than a few bites before setting her fork down. Sure, they had gotten no information thus far, but this was only the beginning!

"Have you so little faith?"

Aerith looked up, blinking a few times. "What?-" she looked down again. "No, I... I'm sorry. I'll eat." She managed to take another bite. Vincent watched silently. She set her fork down again. "I can't," she said, defeated.

"Beaten by a simple steak," Vincent commented with amusement, shifting to place his elbow upon the table and rest his chin upon that fleshy fist.

Blushing, Aerith lifted her eyes once more. "It's useless to try. We're never going to find him."

Without pausing he replied calmly, "Of course we are. Simply because he doesn't know we're following him. I've tracked down people before- people who were skilled at hiding and knew I was after them." Once more, Vincent shifted, glancing around the room with his crimson eyes.

Aerith's gaze shifted as well. "But... he probably wouldn't have gone near this or any other town. Someone might recognize him."

Tipping his head, Vincent flashed a brief smile, knowing that if she were paying the least bit of attention to him, she would have been shocked. It gave him a perverse sort of amusement. "Good point. Perhaps once you've eaten a bit more, you can go buy our provisions."

She blinked at him, then frowned, "Don't patronize me, Vincent. I'm trying." He shook his head, but didn't apologize. Just to test him, she sat quietly, meeting his gaze. She knew their deal, however, and didn't need to be reminded. Lifting her fork once more, she took a few more bites. He sat quietly, waiting for her to finish, though without looking directly at her. He'd found that his nearly unblinking gaze tended to unnerve people and certainly Aerith didn't need to be stood over like some child. After a few minutes, she set her fork down once more.

Turning his eyes towards her plate, he found that she had indeed eaten at least half of her dinner, and that being the amount he'd asked her to consume, he said nothing further on the subject. "I'll meet you at the inn in an hour. We'll spend the night in town." With that, the vampyric man stood, turned, and left.

Aerith sighed. Sitting there for another moment more, she found herself staring down at the remaining peas and mashed potatoes scattered across her plate. An hour was more than enough time to arrange for supplies... "Perhaps..." she murmured, "I can eat a few more bites... for him..."

* * *

Not even his demons could pick up even a trace of a scent anywhere near Kalm. Either he had not come to this town in a while, or had never come there at all. In either case, Sephiroth's whereabouts and destination were still unknown. They would have to take their search elsewhere. At least Aerith hadn't given up. Vincent had to be glad of that. Even thought she still wasn't her previous cheerful self, he doubted she would ever be like that again.

He paced down the street, the toes of his boots clicking on the cobble stones as he headed towards the inn. It was dark, but still fairly early in the evening. Entering the inn, he looked around the front room, catching the eyes of the young attendant behind the counter.

"S'cuse me, sir? Are you with a young lady?"

Vincent turned towards the younger man, looking him over, "Brown hair, green eyes?" Vincent asked and got a nod.

The man gave a relieved smile, "she left a message for you, in case you came back before she did, but she came in about half an hour ago. Your room is the first door on the left."

Vincent nodded, but lingered. "What was the message?"

The man started, then blushed guiltily, rubbing the side of his neck sheepishly. "Just that she'd already gotten a room."

Once more, Vincent nodded and turned, heading up the stairs to their room. He trusted that Aerith had gotten one suitable. Placing his hand upon the knob, he paused, listening... then slowly opened the door and peeked in. The room was dark, the candles having been blown out some time before, for not even the stubs glowed with the residual heat in his vision. Aerith was glowing brightly though. Not that she was on fire.. but simply because she was warm and tucked into one of the two beds in the room.

Listening carefully, he heard her slow measured breaths... and couldn't help the slight smile that touched his lips. So easy it was to give her hope... simply by paying attention to her and giving her something to look forward to. How stupid could he have been to not see that she did in fact need at least _someone_ she knew around. Closing his eyes, he ground his teeth a bit- then unclenched his flesh fingers from the fist he'd made and paced forward silently after closing the door and sat down on the other bed, trying not to wake her as he lay down and closed his eyes, falling into a light doze.


	12. The Fallen and the Saved

**Chapter 12**

_-song by Sarah McLachlan

* * *

_

On the road again... Aerith sat behind Vincent on the Chocobo, head against his shoulder, his hair tickling her nose as they rode onwards towards the Chocobo ranch. Funny how they'd ended up heading along the same route they'd taken the first time, chasing after Sephiroth. A smile curved her lips, her eyes remaining half lidded even as she took a breath and spoke. "So how far ahead is he?" she asked, the second time she'd spoken that day.

Vincent winced, why did she have to ask the hard questions? Looking up at the sky, he frowned, eyes scanning the low and dark clouds that had moved in during the night. "Aerith," he said softly, deciding at least part of the truth was needed here. "He left nearly a year ago, it'll take a bit to catch a more definite trail, and then to catch up to him."

Lifting her head, Aerith's smile became more firm and he glanced back, catching her expression from the corner of his eye- having dreaded seeing her frown, he was rather surprised. "You're an expert tracker, though," she replied, "It won't take too long, right?"

Unable to really stop himself, Vincent gave a nod and smiled as well, "Of course not." Sparing a hand from the reigns, he patted her hand. "Pull your hood up, though, it's going to start raining soon." Though even as he said that, a drop smacked him on the nose, and Aerith laughed, lifting her hands to pull her hood up as she'd been told, then leaned forward, putting her head back on the warm spot on his shoulder, her arms around him once more.

He heaved a sigh, stretching somewhat, and settling back into place as the rain turned from a sprinkle to a pour in a wall of water that rushed across the land. In seconds, he was soaked- at least everywhere that Aerith wasn't keeping dry with her body, but in time, that too would get wet. He hated being wet, he disliked rain- it blotted out scents and tracks- things he'd learned to read with his beast form, and rather appreciate. At least, this might slow Sephiroth down- if he was still even on this continent- on top of that, Cloud would be slowed as well. What an odd race this was! Seeking a finish line none of the racers knew the location to.

_Heaven bend to take my hand_

_and lead me through the fire_

_Be the long awaited answer_

_to a long and painful fight_

_Truth be told I tried my best_

_but somewhere along the way_

_I got caught up in all there was to offer_

_but the cost was so much more than I could bear_

Sephiroth sat on the red cliff- a black shape unnoticed by those who lived below in the canyon. To them, he was merely a shadow on the wall in sunset, and he wanted to stay that way. He stared down at them, his eyes half lidded. Yes, he could have gone down and talked with them, gotten something to eat, and no been recognized, but what was the point of it?

Lifting his eyes, his gaze moving towards the gold and orange sunset hovering on the edge of the earth, clinging to the sky with desperate wisps of cloud that spread like hands across the dome of the heavens. "If she could see this..." he found himself whispering, but stopped and shoved aside the thought with irritation, though he thought he could hear her voice on the wind that whispered through the painted rocks of the canyon.

"Redemption and revenge..." he murmured, "How do I find the one and not the other?" He leaned back against the wall behind him.

"By seeking it."

Sephiroth's eyes widened and he sat up, his eyes searching the shadows to finally fall upon the beast that crouched nearby, lounging with every evidence of having been there for a while, Nanaki's coat blended with the rocks as if he were indeed part of them. "You may have changed physically, but you smell the same," the beast said softly, drawing out the words slowly- carefully. The tip of his tail twitched, and lay still as Sephiroth looked away and finally settled back against the rocks, removing his hand from the sword that sat beside him. "I could ask what you're doing here."

"You could," Sephiroth agreed, his eyes turning towards the beast, but only briefly before turning to look back down towards those below who were oblivious to their audience. "But there'd be no point since you know."

Nanaki nodded slightly. "I do," he agreed, and got to his feet, turning and taking a step forward and stopped again, looking back at Sephiroth, blinking lazily. "Well?"

Turning his eyes back towards Nanaki, Sephiroth stared in confusion. "Are you coming?" Nanaki sighed at having to actually ask. Slowly, Sephiroth got to his feet, picking up his sword and followed.

_though I've tried I've fallen_

_I have sunk so low_

_I messed up, better I should know_

_so don't come round here_

_and tell me I told you so_

Aerith woke slowly with a yawn, stretching within the cocoon of blankets she was wrapped in as she sat in a chair next to the fire. It was still raining outside, but inside the house it was warm, dry, and comfortable. Blinking lazily, she gazed at the fire, watching the flames dance like fairies across the logs. How long had she been asleep? Who knew? Well... Vincent probably would, but what did it matter? They still couldn't go anywhere. Shifting, the Cetra yawned again and smiled with a somewhat giddy feeling floating around within her heart.

What a lovely dream it had been- someone had called her on her PHS, she'd answered in a daze and heard a voice she'd so longed to hear- the soft deep murmur of it almost a physical feeling. She could almost feel it again when she closed her eyes. What had he said? What had she said?

She couldn't remember, but it had been nice. Pushing the blanket off, she blinked as something clattered to the floor. Looking down, she searched around, trying to find what had fallen off her lap- her eyes falling on her PHS. Leaning down, a hand reaching for it, Aerith hesitated, then picked it up, looking at the display. It was still on- 'Call ended'... that was last night, around midnight... Nanaki's number.

Her heart beat once- hard and strong, blood rushing through her body, returning her flesh to life, the second blooming of her most precious flower. "It... wasn't... _Vincent_!"

_we all begin out with good intent_

_when love is raw and young_

_we believe that we can change ourselves_

_the past can be undone_

_but we carry on our back the burdens time always reveals_

_in the lonely light of morning_

_in the wound that would not heal_

_it's the bitter taste_

_of losing everything_

_I've held so dear_

Nanaki sighed, laying his head on his paws as he lay in the doorway. Though the room was dark, he could still sense Sephiroth- his old enemy- curled up on the bed, clutching the PHS, fast asleep with a look of innocence upon his face. The scars had lifted once again, leaving him a being seeming to be untouched by sorrow, doubt, pain, and torment. He'd only heard half the conversation, but the warmth that had entered Sephiroth's voice was evidence enough that the right decision had been made.

Cloud had called not more than a week ago, furious, asking if Nanaki had seen Sephiroth. Having gotten the gist of the situation, the beast had promised to keep an eye out, but, knowing Aerith... well, she'd been right that her going to summon Holy hadn't been the last they'd see of her. He'd not believed her then, but she'd been right, and perhaps she was right about Sephiroth. The best way to find out would be to give them a chance.

However, Cloud hadn't been in the best of moods when he'd called, and likely would be getting even worse as time passed and he was unable to find Sephiroth. Nanaki couldn't keep Sephiroth either, though having someone around with a pair of hands to help was useful, he just couldn't feel comfortable with Sephiroth around. He'd changed... a lot. There was an ethereal- otherworldly sense to him that transcended the physical and reminded subtly that death will come eventually. Just looking into those eyes gave Nanaki a chill in the core of his soul, though death was only the worst part of it all- but the hopelessness in the ex-general's eyes was proof that there were worse things than death.

Lifting his head, Nanaki got to his feet- "go on," was the soft voice from the darkness. "I'm no threat to you now. Get some sleep. I'll be out by morning."

Nanaki peered into the darkness of the room- spotting the faint glow of Mako-eyes in the shadows. Giving a slight nod. "Feel free to take what supplies you need. I can easily get more," Nanaki replied and turned, padding out, the sound of Sephiroth curling up more tightly on the bed the last he heard of the tormented soul sharing his house.

_I've fallen_

_I have sunk so low_

_I messed up, better I should know_

_so don't come round here_

_and tell me I told you so_

Impatiently, Aerith waited for Vincent to finish checking the gear on the Chocobo. It was still early, but they'd still had to wait another two days before the rain let up, and Aerith had lived on sunlight and adrenaline the entire time. If she could sprout wings and fly there herself, she would have, but she was stuck with mundane forms of travel

Vincent peeked at her as she stood by the barn door, shifting from foot to foot. She'd made a remarkable come-back in the last two days, not only did she look truly alive but she was wearing her old pink dress again, the curves of her body beginning to come back with her renewed appetite. She seemed determined to get herself back to what she was before- for _him_.

He hadn't quite believed her when she said Sephiroth had called her on Nanaki's PHS, but if she believed, then he would go with what she said and take her to Cosmo Canyon. It was a better lead than anything he'd gotten lately. Sephiroth had not made it convenient for the ex-Turk to follow this time- that was for sure!

Sighing, Vincent jerked on the last strap to check it, then took the reigns, leading the bird over to the door. Aerith turned, her eyes bright, and easily, she launched herself into the saddle. Beneath her, the Chocobo shifted, somewhat startled by the sudden move, and Vincent almost feared that Aerith would take off without him, but the bird settled and Vincent climbed up behind Aerith, pulling his cape out from beneath him and shifted it on his shoulders before taking up the reigns around the woman seated in front of him. "Ready?" he asked, needlessly.

Turning her head, Aerith looked back over her shoulder at the Ex-Turk and smiled dazzlingly. Vincent almost ... almost kissed her, but stopped himself after a slight lean forward and smiled in return. Off they went, across the slightly muddy landscape, heading across the swamp and over the mountains, heading for Junon where they could catch a boat over to Costa Del Sol.

_Heaven bend to take my hand,_

_I've nowhere left to turn,_

_I'm lost to those I thought were friends_

_to everyone I know,_

_oh they turn their heads embarrassed,_

_pretend they don't see_

_that it's one wrong step_

_one slip before you know it,_

_and there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed._

His coat flapped against his shins as he walked, half covered in dust. Above, the sun beat down on him unmercifully, below, the ground was dry and covered in thick grass that waved in a wind Sephiroth couldn't feel. Swallowing, he licked parched lips, his hand going automatically to the water canteen hanging from his hip, only to remember at the last moment that it was empty, just like it'd been empty ten minutes ago when he'd thought of easing the rawness of his throat, and just as it had been empty ten minutes before that when he'd swallowed the last few drops. It'd been a while since he'd seen a town or any rest spot- or shade for that matter. Just rolling hills of dying grass leading towards the mountains.

At least this time, he had a purpose- he was going to meet Aerith... she'd asked him to. He'd meet her... only to tell her to stop pining over him. She wasn't doing herself any favors.

Damn his heart! Sephiroth hissed another curse under his breath as his attempt to lie to himself once again failed. Yes, he wanted to see her, he wanted to see her so badly that he'd nearly left Nanaki's house that very evening he'd called her. He'd wanted to see her so badly that he'd not stopped for more than a few hours the last two nights for rest and continued onwards, running himself as long and hard as he could before he dropped from exhaustion. Even now, he could have taken a detour a few miles to the south and gotten his canteen refilled. But then, there was a spring up in the mountains he could camp at somewhere around midnight, but his pace was a bit slower than he thought he could do at peek performance. Damn his body while he was at it! Though he knew this second failing was more due to his being used to having an endless store of energy by drawing on the planet for reinforcement of stamina. Now, he was even worse off than a normal human.

Swallowing the dried sludge he felt collecting in his mouth, Sephiroth wiped a hand across his brow, pushing his bangs back out of his face with his gloved fingers. Black wasn't the best color to be wearing in this weather. He also stood out rather badly against the sky and ground, a rather demonic picture he presented. The thought made his lips quirk with the faintest of amusement.

All this wandering, trying to escape what he could never put out of mind or heart, and now, he was willingly running right back to this strange bondage. Had he ever really gotten away though? Every night had been tormented with dreams of her- Aerith's laugh haunting his waking hours as he thought of things to tell her that might draw out a giggle or two. He'd stored away all those jokes she might find funny, tried to forget them, but the prospect of bring a spark of life to those emerald eyes made his heart skip a beat or two, lifted his faltering spirits and gave him the strength to take another step closer to her.

"I won't mess up this time," he said softly, voice cracked. "I won't run away. Even if I can't really have her, she can at least have me." Unexpectedly, his eyes stung.

_"Hello?" _She sounded sleepy.

"Hi..." he'd said, unsure of how to proceed.

_"...Seph?"_

"Yeah," he admitted, feeling a total fool, knowing Nanaki was listening in.

_"Seph...where are you?"_ she asked, the pain in his voice making his heart ache. He clutched at his chest with his free hand, the other clinging to the PHS.

"Cosmo," he answered, almost choking on the word, "I'm alright..." he added before she could ask. "Are you?"

_"Yes, I'm okay,"_ she replied, the dreamy smile on her lips evident in her sleepy voice. _"We're looking for you... Vince and I."_

"Why?" Sephiroth asked, confused- and damn his heart! How fast it was beating, pounding in his ears and nearly drowning out her voice.

_"Because I miss you."_ She said that with no doubt in her voice, no hesitancy. He felt as if he'd died again, only this time due to bliss. She _MISSED_ him!

"I..." he started, then stopped as he realized what he was about to say. Swallowing, he gave a shake of his head, continuing before she could think his aborted sentence had been something she wouldn't want to hear. "I miss you ...too," he ended in a whisper.

_"Oh Seph..."_ A silence fell between them. He just sat there, listening to her breathe, reveling in the feeling of one-ness he felt in that absence of sound, this feeling as if he were once again part of everything, able to truly live, and die with no regrets, nothing to keep him from simply letting go and giving back what he'd taken from the Lifestream.

_"Seph,"_ she whispered, not more than a breath, _"I love you."_

"..." His heart blocking his throat, he fought to draw air and flopped down onto his side on the bed, embracing the darkness- so very glad that no one could see the tears that coursed down his face at that moment, "you too..." he replied at last, clutching the PHS and its tenuous connection to her. Again, silence fell between them, it was all he could do to keep from sobbing. This was what he'd always wanted- what he'd been denied in his previous life, the cause for all the destruction and pain.

Eventually, he'd realized that Aerith had fallen asleep and though he'd wanted to listen to her breathing and pretend he was there with her, he hung up and for most of the night, he'd just lain there in the darkness, aware that Nanaki was guarding the door. A needless gesture, Sephiroth could hardly move. He was tired, but not sleepy, wanted to fly, and was on some level, but his body was too heavy, so he simply curled up and tried desperately to remember how to breathe around the throbbing loud beat of his heart.

Now, even as he walked towards Costa Del, expecting- hoping to meet her there- Sephiroth fought his emotions. He was going as fast as he could, he couldn't sprout wings and fly to her- though he dearly wished he could at this point. "Foolish," he called himself, but through a smile.

_though I've tried I've fallen_

_I have sunk so low_

_I messed up, better I should know_

_so don't come round here_

_and tell me I told you so_


	13. Note

**Chapter 13**

Cloud's eyes narrowed as he lay on his stomach, binoculars to his eyes intently peered through them at the black speck advancing towards the mountains. For a week now, he'd been trailing Sephiroth, wondering how to put his plan for revenge into action. However, no opportunities presented themselves and Sephiroth's movements were too erratic to make some sort of trap. It was obvious now that Sephiroth had apparently no problems with defending himself now that Aerith wasn't around, Cloud had watched the ex-general cut a particularly nasty Jenova monster to ribbons just the other day. Maybe Sephiroth's movements were a little slower than they used to be, but they were still fast enough to pose a problem to Cloud, who had only the hope of beating Sephiroth to a pulp and hope that he wouldn't wake up anytime soon... And dear Planet- if Sephiroth found out that Cloud had a son...

Giving a shake of his head, Cloud brushed the hair out of his eyes as a puff of wind blew grit and hair right back into his face. Coughing into his arm, Cloud squeezed his eyes shut against the wind, then peeked again through the binoculars as the breeze died.

Sephiroth was still out there, but now was joined by several other figures that looked like farmers and herders- armed with implements of their trades. Though the general hadn't moved in any action to threaten them- no, he just _stood_ there- the others moved to ring him in. Oh, this should be interesting... Cloud smirked, sitting back and watching. If only he could hear what was being said!

The villagers stood at ready, waiting for a fight, but Sephiroth still made no move, and just when it seemed as if they might give up, one of the ones behind the man clad in black swung his impromptu weapon, cracking Sephiroth firmly in the back. The sword sheathed across his back shielded his spine, but the blow must have been fairly firm- Sephiroth staggered forward, only to meet another bold man with a rake. The points hit, and stuck- Cloud winced, unable to keep the sympathetic pain from twanging in his own stomach. The villager holding the rake tried to pull it back, but only succeeded in dragging Sephiroth forward where he received another bash in the side of the head. Still, he hadn't drawn his sword. "Masochistic bastard... Why the hell don't you FIGHT!" Cloud hissed, gritting his teeth. "They wouldn't be a match for you, just kill them already!" His lips pressed together.

At last, the rake came free and Sephiroth staggered around, apparently half blind, bouncing from one villager to the other- Cloud wincing at every blow that landed firmly. "Damn it!" he hissed and sat up, quickly packing away his things, carrying the bag around to the Chocobo tied out of sight around an outcropping. "Saving his ass just so I can beat it," the blonde grumbled to himself, trying to justify his actions. Swinging into the saddle, his half-coat fluttering in the breeze, he kicked his bird into motion, hand tugging his goggles down into place, keeping grit and wind out of his eyes.

Taking off around the outcropping, Cloud clung to the reigns and saddle, crouching down over the Chocobo's neck as he raced down the side of the mountain as fast as he dared, lifting his head slightly, peering past his mount's feathers. The villagers seemed to still be grouped around something, he couldn't tell their numbers from the distance- his binoculars made the distance seem so negligible! Ducking his head down again, he concentrated on guiding his bird down the treacherous paths and switchbacks of the mountain. "Damn- _DAMN_!" Cloud shouted, startling his bird into a reckless burst of speed- running straight off a ledge that its rider had not seen. It warked in shock and desperately flapped its wings, trying to slow its descent...

Maybe it could have made it across the ravine if it hadn't had Cloud on its back, or his gear... But like a rock with a parachute, it sailed downwards.

* * *

Groggily, Cloud woke up...

...And regretted it.

However, the last memories of his descent into the ravine pulled his eyes open again. The sky above was orange with a tinge of black on the edges, and all around him was darkness. He was on his back, with a splitting headache, and the certain knowledge that his Chocobo was dead, even though he'd thrown himself off its back in an effort to save it. The crunch had... either been the Chocobo's or Cloud's. By the feel of the back of his head, the ex-SOLDIER could swear that final crack of bone had been his.

Cringing, Cloud rolled onto his side and pulled his knees under him, slowly sitting up with a hand clutching the back of his head. "Shit..." he hissed. It was sundown now, those villagers probably killed Sephiroth, or if they hadn't they'd dragged him off somewhere by now, and now Cloud was walking. Shifting, he looked up at the darkening sky. "Damn... May as well stay down here for the night." He couldn't see jack in the darkness of the ravine, and who knew that he wouldn't have to climb out with tooth and nail?

Dragging himself over to the corpse of his bird, he felt around until he came across his packs, half trapped under the crumpled carcass. Tugging desperately at them, Cloud fought nausea, nearly blacking out from the effort. Finally, though, he got his packs out from under his faithful... ex-mount and rifled through them in the darkness, hunting for his Materia.

* * *

Aerith stood on the prow of the ship, leaning forward, as if she could somehow make it move faster by willing it- or perhaps by getting out to help push it along. Vincent sighed and lounged back against the side of the ship, watching her silently. He'd spread his cloak on the deck as a place to sit, his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders as a way to keep cool in the growing heat of the day, but the effort was useless. The metal of his arm gleamed in the sunlight, the metal on the toes of his boots shone and cast reflections of light up into Vincent's face and he endeavored to keep from blinding himself with either, and silently watched her.

The wind pulled at her hair, which she'd released from the usual braid she kept it in. It flowed around her face like a living creature, sticking to her smiling lips and flaring out behind her body, sometimes even looking like wings. Vincent sighed inaudibly and wondered- what was she thinking? Was she remembering happier times? Or perhaps thinking of their first trip to Costa Del? Or perhaps she was thinking of Sephiroth...

Why did that last though hurt so much?

Closing his eyes, Vincent folded his arms on his chest and tucked his chin down, hiding the frown that pulled at his lips. It wasn't fair at all!

Viciously, Vincent shoved that thought from his mind. He had no right to Aerith, she already had someone she loved. Vincent had lost his chance at love. He'd let Lucrecia die and that was his burden to bear for the rest of his existence, no matter how long that was.

Aerith abruptly turned, hands holding her hair back from her face, eyes sparkling with her smile, though the scars of her recent depression were still red on her wrists, bright contrast to her careless expression, the wind playing joyfully with the edge of her dress and hair. She'd changed clothes again, her pink spaghetti strap dress replaced with a mid-thigh length and strapless white sundress. Though the top clung to her body without a wrinkle, the skirt was flowing and light. Beneath, she wore a florescent pink strapless bikini, which Vincent was uncomfortably aware of- considering how wide her skirt was cut, and his current angle- and the fact that anywhere her dress was wet, it was about see-through.

Torment... Did she even _realize_ what she was doing to him? Probably not, and Vincent sure wasn't going to tell her. That damn lucky bastard Sephiroth had better appreciate her this time. Vincent swore he was going to pound the man's brains out with his metal hand if Sephiroth hurt Aerith again.

"Vincent?" she asked again, and he opened his eyes, looking up at her- to find her leaning down over him, exposing him, rather unintentionally, to her cleavage. "Are you okay? You don't look well?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Vincent averted his eyes, but it was hard, "It's bright out here," he replied, "that's all."

Tipping her head to the side, she smiled, reaching down to cup his cheek gently, "If you want, you can go back down, I'll be alright."

He almost flinched from her hand, but forced himself to look at her face, and gave a smile, "I'm not a vampire," he told her, "I won't turn to dust in the sunlight."

An infectious giggle bubbled up from her, "A joke, Vincent?" she asked, "Oh my! What's the world coming to?"

"Certainly not it's end," Vincent replied, feeling her caress his cheek gently, then her hand lifted away and he looked up again to find her twirling out across the deck, her sandal clad feet lightly carrying her along in a ballet that worshipped the sun and wind and sea, her laughter the music to which she danced.

Again, a smile pulled at his lips, and Vincent couldn't help but look at the flashes of pink under that flowing skirt. How naughty she seemed to be feeling today- innocently naughty perhaps, but it was attractive and he had to forcefully remind himself that he was really three times her age, despite appearances. It simply wasn't fair!

Vincent, however, wasn't the only man who was uncomfortably aware of Aerith, for Vincent saw more than a few of the sailors taking note and certainly other passengers. It was a good thing Aerith wasn't traveling alone. Twirling to a stop, Aerith turned to face Vincent, her lips pulled back into a dazzling smile, "We're almost there!" she announced, looking towards their destination with bright eyes. "Sephiroth," she mouthed, gazing towards the distance with eagerness and longing, hands going to her heart, blush coming to her cheeks. Suddenly, she spun back around to face Vincent, startling him- he blinked and looked away, having been quite guilty of staring, "Tifa and Cloud live here, don't they?" she asked. "...We can stop by and see them, right?"

Unable to tell her no, and since this was her journey, Vincent gave a nod- though he dearly hoped that Cloud would _not_ be home. "Of course," he answered verbally and was rewarded with another smile and twirl, her hair flowing around her like silken ribbons, voice raising in song, sending it to the high wind. Pain constricted his heart and he closed his eyes, trying to fend off her charms by depriving himself of sight. How vicious an enemy his own heart was!

* * *

It seemed to take an unaccountably long time for the ship to dock, and even though, this time, she wasn't hiding from Shinra troops and Rufus, Aerith thought it took longer to get the chance to disembark than it did when they were stowaways! Vincent, holding the reigns of the Chocobo, followed behind her as she flowed among the people, pausing at stalls that were set up on the roadside. There were no automobiles here in Costa Del Sol, there was no room for them, even the Chocobo seemed too big to fit through the narrow streets of the packed resort town, but they did make it eventually, finding their way to the villa.

Nervously, Aerith paused, taking a deep breath before lifting a hand. "Don't bother," a voice called from down the stairs, "I'm right here." Aerith froze, going pale, then took a breath, turning to face Tifa as she came up the stairs, minding her steps instead of bothering to look at who had been about to knock on her front door. In her arms, she held a bag of groceries and on her back...

"_A BABY_!" Aerith cried in surprise as Tifa came level. "Oh Tifa! He's _ADORABLE_!"

Quickly, Vincent, sensing the danger that was posed to the groceries, he let the reigns of his Chocobo drop and caught the bag, taking it from Tifa, allowing the two women to exchange joyful embraces. "Aerith!" Tifa gasped, brown eyes blurred with tears as she clutched her innocent seeming friend, "I- We-... but-?" she tried, unable to find the words to ask, the surprise and happiness of the moment rendering her speechless.

Blushing, Aerith drew back a bit to look her friend in the face, "I _told_ you it would be alright! But does anyone believe me...?" she smiled though and hugged Tifa again. "You look wonderful, Tifa," she whispered, tears stinging her own eyes. Sniffling, she drew back again. "But who is this adorable little boy?" she asked.

Shifting, Tifa carefully pulled the straps off, delivering the child into Aerith's waiting arms. "His name is Sora," she introduced the blue eyed brunet infant. "He's got his father's smile," and as if to demonstrate, the boy giggled, waving his arms.

"How _sweet_!" Aerith cooed, cradling the child as Tifa opened the door of the house and let her guests in.

Turning, the ex-bartender looked at Vincent, giving him a smile as she took her groceries, "There's a stable around back. Thank you, Vince," she said, sparing an arm to give him a hug. "Didn't recognize you without your cape!" she laughed softly.

Tugging his lips into a smile, he shrugged in return, "Too hot," he answered simply and reached back, catching the reigns of his wandering Chocobo and turned, heading off to put the bird away. Tifa pushed the door closed and headed towards the kitchen, putting her groceries down and started putting them away as Aerith- without having to be asked- changed Sora's diaper.

"So... how... Aerith... You were dead," Tifa said, her hands coming to a stop in their task and she looked at the counter, her back towards the other brunet.

Lifting her eyes briefly from her own task, Aerith replied, "The planet. ...Tifa, I had to die. I couldn't summon Holy unless I carried my prayer to the planet myself. That was the only way. ...Sephiroth did us a favor. I really didn't suffer, Tifa. It was like..." she paused to finish pinning on the new diaper, then picked the infant up, cradling him gently, "It was like getting punched really hard, and then it didn't hurt, and it got dark and- like falling asleep after being awake for way too long. Everything fell away, and I was free." Lifting her eyes, Aerith met Tifa's and smiled, "The Planet brought me back because I'm the last Cetra, it couldn't let its protectors all die out."

Tifa shook her head, lifting a hand to brush her hair out of her face. She too was wearing a sundress of light color, it being far too hot to wear anything heavier, her hair tied back in a high ponytail except for her bangs which fell across her brow in a light feathering. She'd gained some weight, but that was obviously due to pregnancy, and she was quickly losing it again. She looked very mature with the extra curves, no longer even vaguely holding on to her teenage years. "I wish Cloud was home- he'd be so happy to see you!"

Vincent's sigh of relief caught both women by surprise and they looked towards him. Aerith giggled, "Oh yeah..." she said softly, trying to hide her laughter by looking down at Sora who clutched at her hair.

"Oh yeah- what?" Tifa asked in confusion.

Looking away, Vincent muttered evasively, while Aerith spoke more loudly, "Cloud's mad at Vincent," she explained with a smile. "But, they'll have to work that out between themselves," she added, stalling any further questions by Tifa on the subject, and gently rocked Sora, cooing at him. Vincent scowled, but made sure to do so while his face was turned away from the women. Aerith laughed again.

Pursing her lips briefly, Tifa shook her head, deciding that Vincent didn't want to talk about it, and Aerith wasn't going to, so she let the subject drop. "Are you going to stay here, Aerith?" she asked instead.

Biting her lip, Aerith looked up at the ceiling, "well... I was... hoping to stay for the night," she admitted, "If that's alright with you..."

Eyes brightening, Tifa gave a smile, "Of course it's alright! We've got an extra room we can fix up and-"

"Just the night," Aerith repeated, "I'm going to meet someone... He ran way from me before, but I'll get him this time!" Though, even as she said it, Aerith regretted it. Tifa would want to know who it was, and... Aerith didn't want to upset her friend, and she could already tell that Tifa was interested in the story behind this thoughtless explanation. Giving a shake of her head, Aerith shook her hair back over her shoulders, disentangling it from Sora's grasping little fingers, "Tifa... promise you won't get mad," she said softly. "I- I want to tell you the truth, but..." her eyes remained downcast, gazing at the blue-eyed brunet future lady-killer.

Tifa, having taken the time to finish putting her groceries away, made her way over, wrapping Aerith in a supportive embrace. "I promise," Tifa replied, becoming serious, after all, Aerith had never looked so ...depressed in all the time Tifa had known her, and it was frightening.

Swallowing, Aerith gave a slight smile. "You might want to sit down," she added, and glanced over to where she'd last seen Vincent. He was gone. Not surprising. No, he hadn't abandoned her, he'd left the girls to themselves, giving them room to be teary over each other and play with the baby and do the type of thing that best friends do when they've not seen each other in so long. What was it? Nearly two years?

Leading the way, Tifa headed over to the couch and took a seat, Aerith sat beside her, placing Sora in her lap, letting him wrap his hands around her fingers. "Aerith-" Tifa said softly, reaching over to take Aerith's hand, turning it over, displaying the scar. Lifting her eyes, she stared at Aerith's face intently, fearfully.

Aerith merely smiled, "Part of what I wanted to tell you," she replied, "It'll... explain a lot, I think. Even about Cloud, and Vincent."

Falling silent, Tifa waited for this explanation that would- apparently- combine all these seemingly unrelated events and make them understandable. She waited patiently too- at least outwardly patient, gently rubbing Aerith's hand between her own. Taking a breath, Aerith started- she started from the beginning, explaining her prayer, explaining Sephiroth- his motives, what he'd really been doing, and what he was apparently doing now, and her own actions, she explained those. She explained how Cloud had found her, how she was the reason Cloud was gone... "So... you see," she said softly, "It IS another woman," Aerith joked, "me, but he's just looking out for me. He's hunting Sephiroth down again... I don't know why really. Maybe it's to make him come back, or just to beat him up. I don't know, I wish... I wish he'd leave Sephiroth alone, he's gone through enough." Aerith shook her head, flipping her hair back from her face. Tifa lifted her own hand and tucked those errant strands behind the other woman's ear. "So," Aerith smiled, looking towards Tifa, "He's not cheating on you."

Leaning closer, Tifa hugged her Cetra friend, "I'm so glad," she whispered, "He's been gone for nearly a month now and- and though he calls me... he didn't call me last night. I don't know what to do, I can't go looking for him..."

"If I see him, I'll send him home, okay, Tifa?" Aerith replied. "I'll kick his butt and make him come home, because he's being stupid."

Tifa couldn't help but laugh. The idea of Aerith kicking Cloud's butt was... just funny, in an absurd way, but they both knew Cloud would likely let her. "He's such a softie," Tifa agreed to the unvoiced comment between them, and they both laughed. Sora had long since fallen asleep, and only twitched at the sound of their voices. Inwardly, however, Tifa was... disturbed. Sephiroth... running around free. Sure he was cut off from the planet, couldn't even use Materia, but he also couldn't die, and that was scary. She brushed Aerith's hair back again, looking at the Cetra's face as she gazed at the baby with a naked longing in her eyes. Of course she wanted one, she'd make a wonderful mother, Tifa thought, and sighed gently. But why Sephiroth?

Silence fell, and outside, it was growing dark, the sun's last rays turning the ocean molten orange and pink. "You'll help me make dinner?" Tifa asked, and Aerith smiled brightly, her briefly forgotten charm, innocence, and energy returned with a vengeance.

Hauling herself to her feet, Tifa grinned and retrieved her son, taking the boy to his crib, where she set him down. Aerith went ahead into the kitchen. Almost like magic, Vincent reappeared- or perhaps as if he'd been listening in and had known that the conversation was over, at least for now, and had deemed it safe to return. He took a seat at the table, and Tifa started grilling him on abandoning Aerith, much to the Cetra's amusement as they worked in unity to make dinner.

* * *

Cloud was dirty, tired, sore, and still suffering from the ghost of a headache as he walked into town, hauling his bags and saddle. He was hoping to buy a new Chocobo- as well as find out what these people had done with Sephiroth after they finished beating the shit out of him, but it seemed that he was in luck today. He found both within the first few minutes of entering the little town. His first stop was the Chocobo stable...

"Nice saddle ya got thur," the man at the gate slurred around a shoot of grain he was chewing on the end of. "But kina useless with outta burd..."

A very observant man, Cloud mused sourly. "Yeah. Mine fell off a cliff," the ex-soldier grumped, dropping his gear to the ground and made an effort to dust off his clothes. He'd exchanged his old outfit for a half-coat, dark pants tucked into shin high boots, and a sleeveless turtle neck. Holding back his bangs currently was a pair of goggles that were as dusty as the rest of him, and Cloud oh so desperately wanted a bath. "Got one I can buy?"

The farmer took a seemingly offended breath and looked Cloud over, "How much ya got, stranger?" he was asked.

Narrowing his eyes, Cloud glowered. "Two hundred gil, and not a coin more," he stated, "And that's overpriced for those nags out in your pen," he gave a dismissive gesture towards the droopy-headed yellow Chocobos standing in the pen behind the stables.

Even more offended, the farmer looked about to refuse, but puffing up his chest, he turned away. Heading into the pen he selected a bird that had a bit more spirit than the others. She was still a yellow and Cloud would have a difficult time getting her over any sort of rough terrain, but she would do for now. Digging in his pocket, Cloud pulled out the cash and handed it over and started saddling his bird just as he heard the commotion from further down the street.

Leaning around, he peered towards a knot of people who were dragging something...someone, half naked by his ankles to the center of town, people following behind and pelting the bound and helpless silver-haired man with rocks, rotten fruit, and eggs. "The bastard," the farmer ground out, hate burning in his eyes. "He an his Shinra scum employers!"

Cloud blinked, "Is he alive?"

"You bet- 'spite everythin we've dun t' im an more!"

Hurriedly, Cloud finished strapping on his abused saddle and bags, then climbed up onto the bird. Nervously, the Chocobo shifted its weight beneath him and warked faintly in protest. He nudged it forward, following after the villagers as they took the ...what should have been a corpse... to the center of their small town and tied it up to a stake. Cloud shivered, staring at the damage.

Bone stuck out at odd places, having broken through the skin- Cloud had to look away, but that same instinct that urged him to look away also held his eyes pinned to the abused body of his old enemy. Sephiroth shifted, lifted his head slightly and dropped it again, blood gumming his eyes too much to allow him to see.

The sky was darkening in the east as Cloud watched, in horrified fascination, the villagers pile brush up in bundles around the ex-general. "You hate im too?" a voice asked beside him, and Cloud pried his eyes away, looking down at the farmer that had sold him the Chocobo.

"Yeah..." Cloud replied. Yes he hated Sephiroth, but... Aerith loved him.

Horrid thought! Cloud's lips pressed together and twitched down towards a frown that was becoming habitual, once again. His fingers tightened on the reigns of his Chocobo, and he took a breath...

* * *

Of all the damndable luck... Sephiroth had actually been recognized. What ...when had it been? A day ago? It seemed an eternity of pain. They'd beaten him, hung him, tried to draw and quarter him, but the Chocobos wouldn't oblige to do more than pull his joints out of socket, and then they'd beaten him more and finally decided to just burn him at the stake like some witch.

He'd been stripped of everything he'd had with him except his pants. He could have broken out, but didn't feel like it before- after all, they were justified in their hatred of him. But now, he couldn't even twitch without nearly blacking out and his mind wailed and beat against it's fleshly prison, unable to do more than cry out silently that he had to go- he couldn't stay and let these ignorant fools play with him.

Piles of brush were at his feet, the villagers standing in an angry throng around him. Of course they had pitchforks and torches ready. "Bastard" they'd called him. "Monster"... at least they weren't educated enough to call him a psychopath which would have been a more correct term for his previous behavior. He didn't really remember if he'd destroyed this town in his madness, but he didn't care if they took their problems out on him. After all, that was why he'd been brought back... though, if that hadn't been Aerith's original reason, it was apparently the planet's. To make him suffer was obviously its greatest joy in existence.

He watched impassively through a haze of pain and blood as the first torch was dropped onto the brush. Then more followed. Sephiroth let his head fall, chin touching his chest as he didn't have the energy to lift it more than a few inches, breathing in the smoke that began to rise from around his feet. He supposed the kicker for all this ... was that no one was going to save him. Even if he couldn't die from it, it'd hurt. He wondered if it'd hurt as much as what the planet did to him? What had already been done to him...?

Instead of contemplating it further, he closed his eyes, better than watching the flames grow higher, his breath coming in short painful gasps already. A shout from somewhere nearby was heard, but was left un-translated until the air turned ice cold around him. The fires died- and a wash of warmth made him gasp for the first unobstructed breath he'd taken in many hours. The bonds around him fell away, and he nearly toppled face first to the ground, but an arm grabbed him and he was thrown across a saddle.

Desperately, Sephiroth clutched the saddle, feeling his grip weaken with every jolting step the bird took, but he never did fall off. Dazed, Sephiroth pried his eyes open, stared down at a black boot and the ground speeding past beneath a pair of Chocobo's feet, and quickly closed his eyes again. Above him, someone was growling curses, and only vaguely could Sephiroth make out the words. "...Bloody fool! ...Could have...killed them all, but nooo! Had to...save your ass!..." Sephiroth tuned the rest out in favor of catching his breath.

Oddly enough, he felt better. Considerably better compared to what he'd felt before, even if now, he felt as if his brains were in a dryer with a bunch of rocks getting knocked about. Again, a wash of warmth surrounded him, and he gripped the saddle more tightly, coherent thought rattling around in his mind.

"Cure-three!" Cloud cast again, and Sephiroth opened his eyes in shock as he felt the spell take effect. Turning his head, he tried to peer up past his grimy blood-soaked hair, spotting a hint of blonde somewhere above him. Again, Cloud shouted his spell, amidst his tirade of curses and occasional glances back towards what may have been pursuit. That voice... was indeed Cloud's, and Sephiroth swallowed, shifting his weight to make it easier for the bird to run, then gave Cloud's shoe a nudge, getting it out of the stirrup. Slipping his bare foot in, he painfully twisted around, exchanging his rather tenuous sprawl across the front of the saddle for a more proper seat in back, then returned the use of the stirrup to Cloud, clutching the other swordsman somewhat blindly.

"Why..." Sephiroth gasped, the only thing he could think to ask.

Growling, Cloud shot back, "Cause, you bastard, Aerith loves you."

* * *

Silence filled the villa as Tifa sat down on the couch with a sigh, closing her eyes. The day had been... trying... Tifa had gone to work, and once again, had to take Sora with her, he'd fussed and threw fits all day, which had nearly driven her nuts, and even though he'd missed both his nap times, he'd about refused to go to sleep. He'd been like that since Aerith and Vincent left. He'd wailed for an hour after the Cetra was out of sight, and afterwards pouted and whimpered pathetically, refusing to cheer up despite all of Tifa's efforts.

At last, though, she'd gotten him to sleep, and had sat down for the first time all day.

The PHS rang.

Blinking, Tifa rolled onto her side, picking the PHS off the table beside the couch, looking at the caller ID. Hitting send, she put it to her ear, "WHY didn't you tell me?" Tifa only restrained herself from shouting for fear of waking the baby. "You bastard! How could you? I would have understood! I would have been HAPPY to know that she was alive, but you didn't tell me and you didn't tell me about HIM either! I'm going to kick your ass when you get home, you bastard!"

Finally, she ended her rant and heard silence on the other end. "...sorry Tifa," Cloud said softly. "...how... did you find out?"

"Aerith and Vincent stopped by to visit. Aerith told me the whole thing- did you really think I wouldn't understand?" Tifa curled up on the couch, leaning against the armrest, tears stinging her eyes. "Where are you? Come home, Cloud! Just leave him alone and come home!"

Silence fell on the other end again, or ... more like muffled silence. She could hear Cloud speaking to someone else, his hand covering the speaker of the phone. He returned a second later, "I can't right now, Tif," he replied, regretfully. "I found him."

This news was shocking enough to make Tifa sit up, then flop back down, "Don't... Cloud, just... let him go."

"Can't," Cloud replied, "It's... complicated."

Grinding her teeth, Tifa scowled at the ceiling, "Then at least let him talk to Aerith!"

"What's she doing with Vincent anyway?" he asked instead.

Tifa fell silent, pondering not answering at all, then decided that that would be childish and replied, "Looking for him too," she admitted, "She said ... she said he called her, from Cosmo, so she was heading that direction."

"When did they leave?"

"Yesterday morning," Tifa replied, free hand twirling her hair around her finger.

Cloud seemed to consult with whatever companion he currently had for a moment, then returned. "Thanks, Tifa... um.." he paused and Tifa heard the other voice a bit more clearly. It was male and deep... "Is she alright? How did she look? Did she eat?"

Sighing, Tifa shifted on the couch, "Yes," she answered at first, "She... she had some scars on her wrist, but they were healing, and she ate plenty. She looked really good, actually- very happy." Tifa smiled slightly, then sobered again, "Please, let him talk to her... That's all that's given her a reason to live..."

Again, Cloud fell silent, but this time, it wasn't to consult with his companion. "He's fine," Cloud muttered, "the stupid bastard," he added as an undertone. There was a grumble of indignation from the other voice and Cloud spoke over it, "Don't worry, Tif, I'll be home soon as I finish this up. I love you."

Unable to contain another exasperated sigh, Tifa replied, "I love you too- even though you don't deserve it."

Cloud softly laughed. "Sleep well. I'll probably be home in another day or two. My bird broke its neck, so I got a replacement..."

"_CLOUD_!" Tifa shrieked, then moderated her volume, "You... that was a _GOLD_!"

"And she's more worried about the damn bird than me..." Cloud said, apparently to his companion, as there was a soft chuckle in response. "Things like that happen, Tif, I'll get you a new one. How's Sora?"

Biting her lips together, Tifa blinked a few stray tears from her eyes. "He's been fussy since Aerith left, he was really sweet to her. He called me _MAMA_!" Again, she smiled at the memory.

The other voice asked something, and Cloud replied, "My son."

"Lucky bastard," Tifa heard faintly, sentiments of Cloud's companion.

Cloud returned to his conversation with Tifa, "He's talking now?" he asked, a smile in his voice.

"Yes, so come home soon, and safe! Don't kill any more mounts either!"

Tifa could almost see him wince, and he gave a soft laugh, "Alright, promise. Good night, Tifa."

Swallowing, she clutched the phone, "Good night," she replied, and listened until he hung up.


	14. Sacrifice

**Chapter 14**

Aerith sat in front of the fire, slowly brushing her hair, smiling slightly as the flames danced and the slight wisp of smoke curled upwards into the diamond studded night sky. For the most part, she was thinking- about Tifa, and Cloud, and their baby, Sora- he was so cute! And Vince and the rest of the gang... Cid had gotten with Shera- finally married her, and though they had their problems, they had a baby on the way, and Yuffie was apparently putting Wutai back together, and Nanaki was running Cosmo Canyon, and Barret and Marlene had gone back to North Corel, where the coal mine had been reopened and the town had returned to life, much the way Aerith herself had.

Her thoughts, however, were broken into by the sound of a PHS ringing. Blinking, she looked around for the source, and finally found it to be hers. Pulling it out of her pack, she looked at the ID... "Cloud...?" she asked as she answered it.

"Aerith..."

It wasn't Cloud. It was even better than Cloud.

"Seph!" Aerith breathed, joy nearly robbing her of all thought. "Wait- you're on Cloud's PHS!"

He coughed softly, "He's... letting me borrow it."

Relief flooded her and she fell back in her blankets, giggling madly, "I guess he found you first. We lose."

"Huh?" Sephiroth asked, sounding confused, which wasn't surprising, considering that he was indeed quite confused.

Sniffling her giggles down, Aerith replied, unable to stop grinning, "Vincent and I were racing Cloud to find you. He found you first, so he wins."

For a moment, Sephiroth was silent, figuring that one out, probably, but he finally grunted, "And what's his prize?" he asked.

This made Aerith pause, thinking about it. "I don't know," she answered, worry dragging the smile off her face, but she heard Sephiroth relating the news of Cloud's victory to someone else and next thing Aerith knew, Cloud answered.

"I want a kiss from you!" the blonde stated, "as my prize!"

Sephiroth's protest was heard in the background, and Aerith burst into a laugh, "Okay," she agreed, cheer returning at the apparent lack of enmity between the two swordsmen.

Reclaiming the PHS, Sephiroth replied, "fine," though he sounded hardly pleased by the prospect.

Rolling onto her stomach, Aerith propped herself up on her elbows, feet swaying in the air behind her, and out of the shadows, Vincent stepped, blinking at her in the firelight. "Oh, it'll be alright, Seph," she soothed, "'Cause Cloud'll have to come find me to claim his prize..."

"True," Sephiroth grumped, still out of sorts, "Where are you?"

"At the pass," Aerith replied, "We'll be heading down the other side of the mountains tomorrow."

Sephiroth gave a grunt, "We'll meet up by midday then," he replied.

Aerith's brows knitted slightly, "Midday? That's..."

"Are they walking?" Vincent asked, and Aerith relayed the question.

Gustily, Sephiroth sighed, "No, we've got a bird, but it's about useless. Cloud managed to ride his gold off a cliff."

"Trying to save YOUR sorry ass!" Cloud shouted, Aerith moved the PHS away from her ear, wincing. And Cloud hadn't even been holding the phone.

Heaving a sigh, Aerith shook her head a little, "Guess some things will never change," she said regretfully.

"Or perhaps they do," Sephiroth replied, "...they just take time... and a good bashing over the head." There was a hint of amusement in his voice at that.

Biting her lower lip, Aerith giggled, "Are you speaking from experience?" she asked, then changed her tone, "You're alright, right? Cloud didn't hurt you...?"

Immediately, Sephiroth replied, "No, Cloud hasn't. My own stupidity, I'll... tell you later." There was something in his voice, a hint of excitement, a hint of a secret grin that sent thrills though Aerith's body, even though his words implied that something bad had happened to him. She wanted to know, but... he wanted to keep his secrets. She'd let him.

Giggling softly once again, she looked over at Vincent, where he'd sat on his blankets, poking moodily at the fire with a stick, "Oh-! Vince," she said, "They've got a Chocobo, but it's apparently not very good. Cloud's gold got killed in an accident." Turning back to the phone, Aerith asked, "How'd he get it to walk over a cliff!"

"You'll have to ask him that," Sephiroth replied enigmatically. He took a breath, sounding like he was going to say something further, then sighed, apparently thinking better of it.

Shaking her head, Aerith ran her fingers through her hair, "No- tell me!" she begged.

The smile she could hear in his voice melted her heart, "Tomorrow," he replied. "Get some sleep."

"Don't hang up- I'll never sleep now!" Aerith whined, knew she was whining, and couldn't help it. Desperately, she clung to the sound of his voice, he did sound well, he sounded happy – or perhaps it was just his happiness at talking to her again.

Softly, he snorted at her, "Should I have not called you then, my pink cat?"

Aerith huffed, "I'm wearing green today, and you should have called me before this- you shouldn't have left in the first place! ...you made me worry..."

"Among other things, so I heard," Sephiroth replied, voice dipping into a lower volume and quieter tones. "...I'm sorry," he whispered.

A smile pulled at her lips and she rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky, "You're forgiven, so long as you come tell me that in person."

"I will," he promised, without a second of hesitation, voice lifting back into normal speaking volume.

Taking a breath, Aerith smiled brightly again, "Can you see the stars?" she asked, rather suddenly.

A pause, then a grunt, "Yeah...?"

"They're so pretty here. The air's clear..."

Sephiroth gave another mutter, "Sort of cold," he replied.

Laughing softly, Aerith shifted, wiggling in her blankets to get comfortable. "A little," she agreed, "but nice. You'll keep me warm tomorrow, won't you?"

"Lost most of my clothes," Sephiroth replied sourly, "sort of need what I have." In the background, she could hear Cloud's snork of laughter and demand to know what the conversation was about. "None of your business," Sephiroth snapped, obviously embarrassed.

On her side of the conversation, Vincent was snickering. Aerith laughed as well, "You're about unromantic, Sephiroth," she accused.

"...oh... is _that_ what you were..." He fell silent as Cloud laughed even harder.

Unexpectedly, Cloud spoke again, "Tell Vincent his is coming next," he said.

Aerith laughed, "I won't. Tifa already chewed him out. You just leave him alone, Cloud. Everything's alright now anyway."

Though hardly reassured, Cloud returned the PHS to Sephiroth with a grumble. After a second, Sephiroth muttered, "Battery is dying," which was almost enough to make Aerith burst into tears. "I'll see you tomorrow," he told her.

Putting on a smile, she gave a nod, even though he couldn't see it. "Tomorrow," she agreed. Taking a breath, she held the phone tightly, "I love you."

He paused, breath catching. "I... you too," he said, and tears trickled from the corners of her eyes, disappearing into her hair. "Tomorrow," he reminded. "Good night."

"Good night." Reluctantly, she ended the call and set the PHS down, lifting her hands to wipe her face.

Vincent shifted, a look of worry in his eyes, if not on his mouth, "Something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Aerith sat up and smiled, "He said... he said he loved me too," she explained, "Not in so many words, but I know that's what he meant." She pulled her knees against her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I don't know how I'll get to sleep!" a soft laugh escaped her- how funny emotions were! Incongruously driven to tears and laughter at the same time, and yet, they both seemed like perfectly fine reactions to the situation. She would see him tomorrow! Had he taken care of himself? Or had he done what she'd done to herself?

Turning her hand over, Aerith inspected the scar on her wrist, drawing her finger across it. "No," she said softly, "it didn't help." A smile curved her lips though and she wiped away the last of her tears. Picking up her brush, she finished untangling her hair and braided it. Laying down, she curled up on her side and closed her eyes, firmly telling herself to go to sleep- so the day would come earlier and she could set out earlier in the morning.

* * *

Sephiroth lay back on the Chocobo blanket, which he was using for bedding, staring up at the stars past the haze of the banked campfire. "Can you see the stars?" she'd asked- he could now, and looked at them, knowing that she was looking at the same stars. If he could name them, he'd name them all Aerith. Just cause.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out. He was still fairly dirty, but Cloud's pushing him into that freezing cold stream earlier had done a lot for cleaning the majority of the blood off. Except Sephiroth had been fairly cold afterwards, and road dust stuck to his sopping wet pants more easily and by the time they'd reached the base of the mountains, his legs had been caked with gunk. The fact that he had no shoes, weapons, or much clothes only made the journey harder and longer. He'd tried to assist Cloud in a fight against one of the wild beasts of the region, but, apparently the Planet wasn't willing to forgive him enough to let him use Materia- and neither was Cloud. Despite the clowning around earlier, Cloud was still giving the other man some seriously dark and sidelong looks.

Like Sephiroth would screw this up?

Then again, he'd screwed up everything else in his life. Stayed when he should have left, left when he should have stayed... That was all his life had ever been. One mistake after another and no intention to stop, because he'd never learned from any of it, well this one he'd learned from. He'd learned that he was miserable without her, and that was the bottom line. It didn't matter if the planet never forgave him, whatever had possessed it to let Cloud's cure spells work was probably a fluke- and more than likely because it had known that Aerith was close and was going to be upset if she saw what state he'd been in.

He took another breath- "Damn it, would you just go to sleep?" Cloud grumped.

Sighing, Sephiroth sat up, propping himself on his elbow, about to make some snide comment, but closed his mouth and got up instead. "Where're you going?" Cloud asked, sitting up as well.

"To take a leak," Sephiroth replied. "I'll be back." Turning, he headed into the darkness, careful of his footing, as he couldn't see the sharp little rocks that were hidden in the carpet of grass. He'd heard that last mutter by Cloud, but at least the blonde hadn't gotten up to follow. Sephiroth was feeling restless and antsy, wishing desperately that it was morning- knew that it would come sooner if he were to just go to sleep... But sleep refused to come and could not be chased, so instead, he took a walk, heading out to the stream that had originally been Sephiroth's destination- before those villagers showed up. Now he knew that he wouldn't have made it in one day from where he'd been, but that hardly mattered, as he was here now, and would meet Aerith tomorrow and everything would be alright.

_"I love you..."_ she'd said.

Sephiroth took a seat on the ground, and closed his eyes, a smile curling his lips. That was the second time she'd told him that! ...and all he'd been able to say was "you too" both times. He'd have to work on that- mostly it was the embarrassment of having people listening in on his conversations with her that stopped him from speaking what he really wanted to say. He'd show her, though. He'd do something spectacular and show her that he was sorry, and that he loved her, and that he wouldn't hurt her again.

He flopped out in the grass, curling up on his side, and watched the water sparkling in the starlight- watched the moon rise- and planned.

* * *

Aerith was tired- but far too excited for her own good. She shifted from one foot to the other as she stared out over the cliff that was on her left side, affording a beautiful view of a valley below- hardly hidden, but impossible to get to without some good climbing gear and the know-how, which was why it had remained untouched despite being so close to a path that was often used. Behind her was a sheer cliff, and though the path was not narrow, there was still only one way to go while on it, any other direction was blocked by common sense.

They'd stopped- and been so for the last hour, the possibility of meeting Sephiroth at noon was growing slim, and Aerith was irritated. Why did there have to be a rockslide blocking their path! It wasn't fair! She wanted to throw a hissyfit at it, but that would solve nothing, so Aerith stood, looking at the scenery and holding onto the reigns of her bird as Vincent scouted around for an alternate route.

Softly, the gold nudged her shoulder and Aerith reached back to pet it, looking back to reassure the bird, but stopped as her eyes fell upon the two figures that stood blocking the only escape she may have had. One was bulky, the other thin and quick- and neither of them going by the names of Vincent, Cloud, or Sephiroth. Hastily, Aerith looked around, only to find herself just as alone as she'd been before.

"Yep," commented the scrawny man, "Thas right, lil' gurl, ain no one 'round t' 'elp ya." The bulkier man started laughing, a thick stupid sounding laugh. He knew his job in this, and he was good at it. "So's jus 'and o'er yer pretties an we won' 'urt ya ...much."

The thick man chuckled again, "Cann-I? Cann-I?" he asked, excitedly, "I ain dun nuffin in... in..." his eyes glazed briefly.

Rounding on his partner, the scrawny man- with a profile like a hawk, dark ratty hair cut short with whatever implements were sharp enough to cut it, and a beard starting to grow in- slapped the bigger man's arm. "Shaddup! Yu'll git 'er, affer I 'ave my fun."

Pouting at first, the big man- who looked like a potato; face and body, brown skin and all- smiled, flashing a set of teeth that looked like they belonged in some other beast of burden's mouth and leered. "I'm gonna git it!" he crowed happily. "Shes got lottsa 'air. Dun mess i'tup, 'Ren, dun mess i'tup!"

"Shaddup!" the scrawny man shouted and started forward purposefully.

Aerith took a breath and screamed as loudly as she could. Startled, the Chocobo jerked the reigns from her hand, leaving a burn on her palm and took off, running towards the two dangerous men. The scrawny man threw himself aside and the bird dodged the thicker man before he could get his grubby paws on the poor animal.

Chuckling, the scrawny man, shook his hair from his eyes, "Good try, buh we took carra yer friend back roun th' bend. E' ain getting up anytime soon... or e'er."

Her hands went cold, body shaking as her heart pumped, "Yo-you- you killed... killed Vincent!" she whispered, taking a step back, her foot coming in contact with one of the rocks that blocked the path. Somewhere, on the other side was Cloud and Sephiroth, and... and she'd never see him. "What... what're you gonna do to me?"

Taking a breath, the man sauntered closer, "Wheell... since I'm bettin yer goods were on tha burd, I'll take whatcha got in yer pants an let George 'ere play wif yer 'air. ... 'E likes 'air- gits jealous o' yu, wimmin wif purty 'air." Behind him, 'George' chuckled, grinning, his beady eyes eager. "E gen'rally takes da 'ead wif it tho."

"Yah!" George agreed excitedly, clapping.

The gunshot echoed off the cliff and Aerith screamed, before she could put her hands over her head, though, her arm was grabbed. Opening her eyes, she looked down the barrel of a gun, the greasy bandit standing behind it. "Don' move!" the man shouted. "Pucher gun down an come out wif yer 'ands up- or da gurl gits it!"

Aerith couldn't see- couldn't take her eyes off the gun, though she desperately wanted to know what was going on. "Let her go," a voice said softly- a reassuring voice.

"Vincent!" Aerith gasped, then shut her mouth as the gun pressed against her forehead firmly. The man was reeling her in with his other arm, trying to get a better hold on her, and all Aerith could do was let him and hope for the best.

* * *

Vincent stared at the scene from his perch on the cliff above- he'd shot the larger of the two, but couldn't get a clear shot at the other. The bastard had put Aerith directly into his line of sight, and it was too late to move- he'd been spotted. Swallowing, Vincent inwardly screamed in frustration. Leave the girl alone for a second and... No, it wasn't her fault- it was his. And now he would have Aerith's death on his conscience and Cloud would come after him, and Sephiroth would come after him- and Tifa likely would too. Oh _Planet_!

Claw digging into the edge of the cliff, Vincent scowled and sat still. "Drop yer gun _down_!" the greasy thief and murderer shouted, yanking Aerith closer, his hand creeping up Aerith's arm, getting a better grip on her.

There was nothing he could do from here... nothing... Reluctantly, he held his gun out over the cliff, fingers refusing to let it go...

* * *

The scream still echoed in his ears as if it had shot directly into his brain. Ahead, there was a rockslide that covered the path, but Sephiroth paid it no heed, his bare feet pounding across the ground while Cloud desperately tried to keep up- Cloud didn't have quite as much reason to go running into danger as Sephiroth did- though Cloud cared for her, Cloud didn't love her in the same way and Cloud didn't have the certainty that he couldn't die even if he got his heart ripped out.

So- Sephiroth ran, ignoring the pain in his side, the pain in his legs and feet and hands as he scrambled up over the side of the rockslide, fighting the loose grit that sent him sliding back down to the bottom. Somehow, he continued to gain ground against the forces that opposed him. Damn gravity! Damn it to whatever torments the most demonic and twisted minds could think of!

His heart thundered in his chest- One beat, two...

_Would you die for her?_

Without hesitating, Sephiroth gasped, "Yes!"

Reaching the top, Sephiroth didn't stop to think- just scanned the scene: corpse on path- no threat, Vincent on cliff- no threat, bandit holding Aerith- _threat_! Launching himself down the steep slope of the rockslide, Sephiroth rode the avalanche he caused, feet bloody and bruised, he leapt when he reached the bottom, arms folding around Aerith.

A gunshot went off- and time slowed, giving Sephiroth the chance to really think for a moment. Aerith stared at his face in shock, tears in her luminescent green eyes- how lovely she looked, even when terrified. Pain impinged on his thoughts, something warm trailing down his back and Aerith reaching around behind him, but he had too much momentum still and his weight was carrying them towards the cliff's edge. Another gunshot went off, this time from above. Sephiroth spun, shoving Aerith away as his foot slipped over the edge of the cliff. "I love you," he told her, as if it were the last chance he would get to tell her that, and for all he knew, it was.

His last sight before the cliff's edge blocked his view was of the bandit- dead where he'd stood, Aerith on her side and sitting up, reaching for him, tears tracking clear streams through the dirt on her face. Cloud reaching the top of the rockslide, Vincent leaping down on the other side of the path... Aerith's shriek followed him down.

_Would you live for her?_

"If given the chance..."

Sephiroth closed his eyes, realizing that he'd probably jinxed himself. The bandit's bullet- meant for Aerith- had hit his heart. Darkness edged in on his mind.

* * *

Cloud pulled her back roughly from the edge, Vincent dashing up seconds later to assist, and together, they wrestled Aerith away from the cliff. It was like fighting the fury of sixteen angry wet cats. She clawed and bit, kicked and flailed with every ounce of her being, all the while shrieking at the top of her lungs with a volume and pitch to burst eardrums.

Dropping his sword, Cloud did the only thing he could think of to pin her down, and sat on her, straddling her stomach, hands holding her wrists with all his strength- even then, she nearly knocked him off. Her fury abated- and so suddenly that it left Cloud wondering if she'd somehow died.

A shivering breath was sucked in, and Aerith's berserker fit was officially over- the wail of loss that followed it was far more devastating than anything she'd done to the two men physically. Vincent shivered, and fell to his knees, head hanging. "-I- I-" he stammered, voice barely audible over Aerith's tears. "I went to ...look for another route- I..." his fingers curled into his palm, the metal claw grinding holes into the packed dirt of the path.

Aerith's wailing took on a new pitch- a deeper humm- and Vincent fell silent... Aerith fell silent, the sound drawing her attention away from herself, at least for a moment. Cloud looked up, and towards the cliff.

Light welled up from below, blue-green Lifestream swirling upwards and onto the edge of the cliff after. Cloud yelped, his head cracking against the ground as Aerith abruptly shoved him off, scrambled to her feet and ran towards the edge. She got past Vincent before he could do more than blink, but at the edge, she stumbled to a stop, her pink dress- the one she'd been wearing when Cloud had met her- fluttering around her shins. Her hair had gotten free of its braid, bits of dust and brush clinging to it as the Lifestream swirled around her boots, her hands, stained with Sephiroth's blood covering her mouth.

Cloud sat up, rubbing the back of his head, Vincent climbing to his feet as something shot upwards.

Black wings blotted out the sky briefly as the owner of them spread them wide, catching the wind briefly- then circled downwards. Bare feet touched the ground and in a flurry of black feathers, the wings disappeared but momentum carried him forward another few paces. Aerith, broken from her shock, ran forward, her small body slamming into his chest, arms wrapping around him, nails biting into the flesh of his back, but it was a good pain.

Closing his eyes, he put his own arms around her, supporting her as she began sobbing again. "You!" she yelled at him, "You-!"

"Forgive me," Sephiroth murmured into her hair, "I wasn't thinking."

Swallowing, Aerith lifted her head, meeting his eyes. "As long as you don't do that to me again!"

"I won't," he promised, lifting a hand to brush errant hair out of her face, tucking the tangled strands behind her ear.

Sniffling, Aerith smiled at him. "Then... you're forgiven."

_...You're forgiven..._


End file.
